The Lone Wolf and The Lioness
by AddictedToTheWrittenWord
Summary: "Maybe I'm crazy for putting the lone wolf and the lioness together, but you're the only ones I know who'll come back alive"... Rick sends Daryl and Michonne on a routine supply run in the Georgia backwoods. I took this story down for awhile to do some major editing/reworking. It's back and improved but please note some of the chapters are different now.
1. Chapter 1 Have Crossbow will Travel

_ I am not Robert Kirkman so do not own The Walking Dead. _ This story is AU, and contains elements from the comics, show, and my imagination. If you haven't read the comics or watched all three seasons then** this story may contain spoilers**. If you're a fan of The Walking Dead then you already know that this story will contain strong language, sex, and violence.** Read at your own discretion.**

**1. Have Crossbow will Travel**

"Watch her." Was the first thing Rick said to Daryl after Michonne had arrived to the prison.

"No doubt, Daryl had replied, anyone that's been on their own long as her has gotta be tougher 'n shit."

"Chaining those walkers the way she did was genius. She's smart, strong, and silent never forget that, and never take your eyes off of her for a second." Rick warned.  
From that day forth Rick always had Daryl work with Michonne. Rick told Michonne it was because they both used silent weapons, but Daryl could tell she knew that the explanation was bullshit. Michonne knew Rick had Daryl watching her, and so she toyed with him. Letting him know that while he was damn good at tracking, she was damn good at being stealthy. She'd disappear from his view several times a day only to pop up silently beside him with a Cheshire cat grin on her face.

Daryl didn't know what to think of Michonne she intimidated the hell out of him with her silence and strength. It wasn't that she was silence so much, hell he was silent, it was because she was always thinking, always planning, always a step ahead. She was nothing like the other women. She worked hard killing walkers everyday, went hunting with him, helped him set and bait traps, and skinned animals without so much as a squirm or complaint. While he didn't have to worry about his job as hunter being in jeopardy she was a pretty good hunter

Since working together they had reached a mutual understanding, that what needed to be done had to be done, and whining and complaining about it was futile. Their old way of life was gone and they just had to adjust. They weren't friends, but they respected each other.

"Take her with you." Was the first thing Rick had said to Daryl when he'd seen him this morning. That hunting trip you were planning on, take Michonne with you, there are two small towns along the way, you can make this a hunting and supply run."

Daryl had been planning a three day hunting trip to the Georgia backwoods, he knew about a cabin out there with a deer blind. Hunting had always been his thing, he went hunting to get away, he had nothing against Michonne, but he didn't want her coming with him either.

"We need supplies especially before winter sets in, this area's been raided within an inch of it's life, we need to try new places." Rick said when Daryl had hedged at the ideal of taking Michonne along. "I'm not asking you to do this, I'm telling you to do this, maybe I'm crazy for putting the lone wolf and the lioness together, but you're the only ones I know who'll come back alive, you know it and I know it."

What could Daryl say? They needed the supplies, and Michonne was the only other person in the group who could hunt and track worth a shit, she wouldn't slow him down, or get in his way at least. He hated to admit it but she was even better than him when it came to tracking walkers, it was like being chained to her pets for all that time had given her some weird sixth sense when it came to walkers. If he was going to have anyone ride shotgun next to him he preferred it was her.


	2. Chapter 2 Miles to Go

AN: This is a switching perspective story, meaning that the chapters will switch between Daryl and Michonne's point of view. This story is AU, and contains elements from the comics, show, and my imagination. If you haven't read the comics or watched all three seasons then** this story may contain spoilers**. If you're a fan of The Walking Dead then you already know that this story will contain strong language, sex, and violence.** Read at your own discretion.**

**2. Miles to Go**

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Rick asked Michonne.

"Sure what is it?" She asked. She hoped he'd make this quick because all she wanted to do was to take a shower and crawl into bed. Every single muscle in her body was screaming in pain, she smelled like a bag of hot garbage, and felt even worse. Now that summer was here walkers had been more active than ever. The herd they put down just moments ago had been the biggest they'd seen yet.

Rick didn't answer right away instead he looked across the prison courtyard at someone approaching over her shoulder. Michonne turned her head to see who he was looking at, Daryl Dixon, he came striding up with his cocky country boy swag, and his perpetual grimace. He looked, as always, as if he were going to get in a fight.

"I've already talked to Daryl." Rick said when Daryl stopped next to Michonne his crossbow slung across his back.

Michonne crossed her arms over her chest, why did she get the feeling that Rick had some sort of special job planned for the two of them, it wouldn't be the first time, since she arrived at the prison Rick had put Daryl on "guard" duty, under the pretext that she and the crossbow cowboy both used silent weapons, but really he didn't trust her, she couldn't blame him for not trusting her, if she met a woman carrying a katana with two walkers chained to her like bad fashion accessories she wouldn't trust her either.

"I don't want to worry everyone else, but we're getting low on food."

"How low?" Michonne asked.

"Not enough to get us through winter, we've barely have enough to get us through the rest of summer, and game in this area is practically non-existent now."

"Yeah thanks to them fucking walkers." Daryl spat.

"I know, I don't want to wait till we run out of food, you two are the best hunters we -"

"No Daryl's the best hunter we have I'm just adequate." Michonne said cutting Rick off.

"You're better then adequate 'an nobody else round here can hunt worth a shit." Daryl said.

"Doesn't matter, Rick said, the two of you are our best bet at coming back alive."

"Coming back alive from what?" Michonne asked arms akimbo.

"The Backwoods." Rick said.

* * *

"Michonne closed her eyes even in a Zombie Apocalypse she didn't want to visit the Georgia backwoods, and she certainly didn't want to do it with a man like Daryl Dixon. Daryl who had a racist brother. Daryl who shared some of his brothers bigoted views, but he was also the same Daryl who'd saved T-Dog's life, so he couldn't have been too much of a racist.

When Michonne opened her eyes again Daryl was still there driving, and she was still wondering how she'd let Rick talk her into this crazy ass road trip. Just the two of them, her and Daryl trapped in his truck, and not saying anything, both feeling awkward as hell.


	3. Chapter 3 New in Town

**Reviews are _VERY_ much appreciated. ** This story is AU, and contains elements from the comics, show, and my imagination. If you haven't read the comics or watched all three seasons then** this story may contain spoilers**. If you're a fan of The Walking Dead then you already know that this story will contain strong language, sex, and violence.** Read at your own discretion.**

**3. New in Town**

It was quiet in his truck, too quite even for Daryl. Aside from Carol he wasn't used to being alone with a woman for this long. He'd never been alone with a black person for this long either, sure he and T-Dog had eventually felt comfortable enough around each other, and they might have even been good friends at some point, but he died before that could happen.

What did two people who didn't have anything in common, and didn't say much, say to each other? All the old distractions like traffic or, texting, or the radio were gone. He doubted that he and Michonne listened to the same kind of music anyway. He glanced at her as he drove down the old dirt road. She was stretched out in the passenger seat, long legs on the dashboard, arms resting behind her head, and eyes almost closed. She appeared relaxed, but Daryl knew if anything should happen she'd leap up like a cat ready to pounce.

"Should reach Sweet Hills in bout an half an hour." Daryl told her. Sweet Hills was the first little town on their supply run. They worked it out that they would go looting, and then go hunting in order to keep the meat as fresh as possible.

"Good, I want to get this done as quickly as possible so we can reach the cabin before night fall."

"We'll make it there long 'fore that." Daryl reassured her.

"So this cabin belongs to you or family?"

"Hell naw, friend of my dad's used to own it, he run a methlab outta it, and my dad sold that shit and useta to drag me to the cabin to pick it up"

Michonne's head jerked around to look at him and her eyes were wide with shock.

Daryl shrugged. "The feds seized it , and sold to some artsy couple who redid the place, I know they're both dead."

"How fortuitous." Michonne said chuckling dryly.

"Hun?" Daryl said looking at her blankly.

"It means lucky."

"Sounds like a college word, I ain't neva had much use 'fore school let alone college." Daryl said. "Don't mean I'm stupid I jus' ain't like school is awl. He always felt defensive around people who used big words, usually when people used big words they did it at his expense. He might not have known what the words they used to insult him meant, but he knew they were meant to insult him.

"Whether you've got a college degree or you're a high school drop out hardly matters now, Michonne said, smarter people than us are dead ."

"You're right 'bout that, he said relaxing a little, so what did you study in college, you went right?" Daryl realized despite working side by side with Michonne everyday since she arrived at the prison, he knew next to nothing about her.

"Yes, I went to college, and became a Guardian ad litem."

"A what?"

"I was an attorney, I represented neglected and abused children."

Michonne looked at him as she said it, and the look of recognition in her eyes froze him to the spot, she was all but telling him she knew he'd been abused, he thought he'd changed so much, but somehow she'd seen right through him. How? He wonder when he'd never told her a damn thing about his life. She could have heard something about his past from the others, but Michonne didn't talk to anyone except Rick, and Rick wouldn't have told her anything about him. What was it that she picked up on, what kind of signals was he giving off?

"Sorry it's none of my business." Michonne said looking back out of her window.

"How'd you know?" Daryl asked because he had to know, it unnerved him that he knew nothing about her,but she seemed to know him so well. It was like she was looking at him naked.

"I've defended too many abused children to _not_ recognize the signs of an abused child, even if the child if an adult now."

"I ain't no fucking kid."

"Didn't say you were."

"I don't need anyone's damn pity I can hold my own."

Michonne looked him up and down. "The last thing you look like you need is pity Dixon."

Daryl grimaced he didn't know if that was a compliment or not. He was glad when he saw a stone and wood sign that read: _Sweet Hills, Ga, pop 1003. Home of the sweetest folks in Georgia, _he pulled into the narrow road that led back into the town. They'd made it to their first stop, now he could get out of the truck and away from Michonne.

"If you blinked you'd miss this place." Michonne said taking her legs off the dashboard.

The whole town seemed unscathed, but Daryl knew all too well that looks could be deceiving. It probably hadn't taken long for a town this size to turn, which meant there were walkers roaming free with on onee to put them down, until now.


	4. Chapter 4 Sword and Arrow

This story is AU, and contains elements from the comics, show, and my imagination. If you haven't read the comics or watched all three seasons then** this story may contain spoilers**. If you're a fan of The Walking Dead then you already know that this story will contain strong language, sex, and violence.** Read at your own discretion.**

**4. Sword and Arrow**

"Looks like the whole town came out to greet us." Michonne said. There were more than a dozen walkers lumbering in the road attracted no doubt by the sound of the truck. Michonne and Daryl exited the truck simultaneously. Sword and crossbow both raised and ready to attack. They didn't talk when takingdown walkers, after all their time together they'd devolved a silent language all their own mainly using hand signals and looks to communicate, she nodded at Daryl and he nodded back. She knew he would take care of the walkers on his side of the truck and she'd take care of hers.

Michonne drove her sword into the head of a walker, and grunting lifted up on the sword splitting it's head into. She could hear the_ twunk_ of Daryl's arrow as he hit his intended target. Some days killing walkers wasn't eventful at all, some days it was exactly like a chore. Today was one of those days. She sliced, she hacked, she chopped, and she stabbed, and still more walkers came. Panting she and Daryl stood back to back to conserve their energy. They fell into a steady rhythm of piling up bodies. Killing, running, hunting- that was Michonne's new life now, but now that she was no longer on her own everything didn't seem as pointless as before, and these people she surrounded herself with was her reason to live.

It took the better part of the morning to clear the town and burn the bodies enough to go safely exploring. There wasn't much to Sweet Hills, the "downtown" consisted of A Bank, a strip mall, a grocery/gas station, and a self storage unit. The strip mall itself housed a thrift store, a Laundromat, a hardware store, and much to Daryl's delight, if his excited gasp was anything to go by, a Army and Navy surplus store. Michonne peered through the grocery store front window, and from what she could see the store had hardly been looted. They had to get inside so she could know for sure there were so many things they needed other than food.

"Hey Dixon come check this out." Michonne said turning around and motioning for Daryl to come over.

Daryl pulled his arrow from the eye socket of a walker and wiped it clean on his jeans. "What is it?"

"Look in there." She said tapping on the grocery store front window.

Daryl bent down and peered into the darkened store. "Holy shit the place looks like it ain't eva been touched."

"Look around, this whole town looks like it's never been touched, poor people didn't have time to loot, Sweet Hills probably turned within a couple of hours."

"How fortuitous." Daryl said.

Michonne laughed her first real laugh since working with Daryl, and he laughed back. It was a welcoming sound, and the tension that had built up between the two in the truck seem to disappear. "We could move to this town, Rick, Carl and all of us, there's more than enough room and we would be hidden enough."

"Sure would beat livin' in a fuckin' prison." Daryl said.

"God knows I've seen enough prisons in my lifetime." Michonne said.

"Ya put a lot of people in prison?"

"I put a lot of bad parents in prison." Michonne said.

"So why'd you become a kiddie lawya for anyways?" Daryl asked.

"When I was fourteen I had a best friend Suzanne Jenkins, her dad used to beat the shit out of her, my parents and the neighbors called CPS, but they didn't do much since Suzanne and her mother both denied the abuse. Then one day Suzanne's father hit her in the head with a ten pound weight and killed her, he was sentenced for fifteen years, and got out in six for good behavior. The judge said since he was the family provider, and prior to this had no arrest record he could see no reason for ruining the rest of the mans life. I felt so powerless at that moment, all the calls my parents made to CPS, and all the testifying I did at her trial didn't matter. It was like _she_ didn't matter, she was my best friend and I couldn't let it be."

"At fourteen ya decided all that an' then just did it?" Daryl raised his eyebrows.

"It wasn't as easy as that, but yes I decided, and yes I did it.

Daryl stared at her with a look she couldn't decipher until she felt uncomfortable and had to look away.

"If the world had more lawyas like you there'd probably less kids growin' up like me " Daryl said finally.

Michonne didn't say anything. She had not expected such a personal revelation from him, maybe it was time to stop thinking of him as an unwashed, uneducated, uncouth redneck. Underneath all that hostility, bravado and machoism was still that hurt defenseless child, Michonne saw it in the way he closed himself off, saw it in the way he needed to prove himself to Rick, saw it in the way he looked to Hershel as a father figure.

Shit was getting too real Michonne thought, especially for two people who played so close to their vest. If Daryl kept humanizing himself around her she could get to like him. No that was a lie, she could more than like him, plus he had some kind of raw animal magnetism going on. In Pre- Apocalyptic times she would have never gotten near enough to Daryl to even give him a second glance, but she had no choice in the matter now. The man was hard to ignore. He was like a gravitational force, and if she wasn't careful she could get pulled right in.


	5. Chapter 5 Paper or Plastic

AN: I won't leave too many notes, just when I think its necessary to explain something. There are racial slurs in this chapter, and there will be slurs in other chapters. I wanted to included them because the slurs that I use are the slurs that were hurled at my parents, who both grew up in the South (Georgia and West Virginia) during the civil rights movement. While we may have come far in over coming racism, I think it's important to remember that we still have a long way to go.

**5. Paper or Plastic**

"What?" Michonne snapped.

"Nuttin." Daryl said, but it was a lie. Michonne had caught him staring at her for the umpteenth time in so many minutes. Daryl couldn't help it, his whole outlook on Michonne had changed ever since she'd told him about what she'd done for her best friend. Aside from a Bluetick hound, the only other thing Daryl had _always_ wanted growing up was somewhere to belong and someone to belong to. He had his older brother Merle, but most of the time he was doing a stint in juvie, and Daryl was left to fend for himself. Never having a friend of his own just reassured him that all the things his father said about him were true. He was worthless, he was stupid, and he was ugly.

Everyone at his school knew Daryl got beat like a rug, he came to school so many times looking like a patchwork of bruises, but no one ever did anything about it, that was just the way things were, you didn't tell tales, and you didn't tell another man how to raise his family. He got the feeling most people thought he deserved those beatings anyway, as if his fathers beatings were doing him good, because that meant he wouldn't turn into Merle.

"You wanna know why you ain't got no friends boi?" His father often asked? "Cuz ya ain't worth shit, who'd wanna be friends with a dumb ass sissy boi who still wets ta bed?" His father would shake his head in disgust when Daryl's eyes welled up with tears. "I tryin make a man outta you 'an ya cry, I shoulda shot ya on to ta sheets" He'd spit contemptuously. If he had a best friend like Michonne growing up, things would have been _so_ different.

Of course growing up he would have never been allowed to have a friend like Michonne. Not with a father who sang jaunty tunes like: _When God made niggers he made 'em at night, he made 'em so fast he forgot to paint 'em white. _His father always claimed they were from the superior race, but the only things his father had been superior at was drinking and violence. He tried everyday to overcome the stigma of his racist past, and prove to the group he wasn't some dumb redneck. For the first time in his life people needed him, for the first time in his life people relied on him, for the first time in his life he had a purpose.

Right now Daryl's purpose was to get supplies, so he picked up a big rock and used it to break the doors of the grocery store, and then used the butt of his crossbow to clear away the rest of the glass, once he'd cleared enough glass he stepped though the doors, and Michonne followed behind him her boots crunching on the shards of broken glass.

"Here they come." Michonne sang.

Daryl raised his crossbow aimed, and watched as his arrow pierced the skull of a walker, it's head kicked back with a spray of blood and it fell down to die it's second death. There were only eight walkers in all, and they took them out with relative ease. As Daryl and Michonne stepped further inside the store an overwhelming smell hit them and they gagged. Rotten meat, eggs, and other various odors had all been left to commingle and bake together in the hot Georgia sun.

Daryl leaned over and vomited.

Michonne jumped back in time to avoid having her boots covered in his puke. "Gross, you want to maybe warn me next time, vomit might repel walkers, but I'm not _that _curious to find out."

"Sorry that smell got to me" Daryl said though he'd been starting to feel sick long before this, but damned if he was going to tell Michonne, he'd just work around it. The group needed food too bad, and Michonne couldn't get all the supplies on her own.

"Are you sure, you look a little peaked." Michonne asked.

"Yeah I'm sure"

"Well then let's start grabbing what we need, we're wasting time just standing around like this."

"Yesssss ma'am." Daryl said giving her a mock salute.

"I'm sorry it's just doing things is what makes me sane, or at least less bat shit insane."

"I know what ya mean." Daryl said. He was starting to learn that two the of them were more alike than he'd care to admit. They were both feral people stuck in a prison full of so-called normal people, though Daryl got the impression that the Apocalypse had made Michonne feral, whereas he was raised that way.

Michonne grabbed a cart and started down the first aisle, and Daryl grabbed a cart of his own following her. Both of them watching out for walkers with all the other bad odors they wouldn't be able to smell them as easily.

"Junk food!" Michonne cried suddenly. "Look there's still junk food on the shelves!"

"Hell yeah!"

Daryl and Michonne exchanged kids at Christmas smiles. There was rows upon rows of nothing but artery clogging, teeth rotting, morbid obesity causing junk food! They hungrily eyeballed chips, cookies, and more soda then they had seen in months.

"I don't know about you, but all that walker killing has made me hungry."

"I thought we was wastin time." Daryl said.

"That was before I saw the junk food." Michonne looked up at him with soft brown doe eyes her full lips curling into a smile, a real smile, not a smirk or a grimace like he was used to getting from her. Michonne's smile lit her whole face like an angel. Daryl wasn't ready for the full force of that smile. He felt the blood rush from his head straight to his cock, and he blushed beet red as he felt himself get hard. He had the sudden and strange urge to push her up against the shelf and kiss the life out of her, he wanted to know what those full lips felt like, were they as soft as they looked? It was only an urge though, he knew she'd slice his balls clean off if he tried anything with her.

Despite what the others might think Daryl had a very limited sex life. He had lost his virginity on his fourteenth birthday to a hooker his father paid for. She was more than twice his age, and she had taken Merle's virginity when he'd turned fourteen. It was just another sick and twisted tradition in the Dixon household. He had not enjoyed the experience as Merle had, but rather felt traumatized. His father and brother had never let him live that down. They called him a faggot and a woman for years. In between that time he'd only been with two other women, and he'd needed Merle's help to get those other women to even talk to him, a ladies man he was not. He'd never had a girlfriend, never been in a relationship, mostly he had just been alone.

Daryl turned towards the other shelf in the aisle so Michonne wouldn't see the tent he was pitching, not that she was looking, she was too busy pulling food off the shelves. He took that opportunity to sit down and pile as much stuff as he could into his lap.

"Not sure you should be eating junk food when you don't feel good." Michonne said sitting down herself, and eying all the stuff he had surrounded himself with.

"I told you I ain't sick, the smell got to me is awl"

"Mmm hmm." Michonne leaned forward and put her hands on Daryl's cheek and then his forehead. "You feel warm to me, maybe you should eat some soup."

"I don't want no damn soup woman." He jerked back from her not wanting her to know how much he enjoyed the feeling of her hands on him.

"Fine! If you pass out don't expect me to drag your sorry ass around you're walker chow buddy."

Daryl laughed. "Walker chow?"

Michonne shrugged and smiled at him again, and he felt that all too familiar twitch of his cock. It shocked him that his feelings for Michonne burned more intense than his feelings had for Carol. This was all Rick's fault he thought, if he hadn't put him on Michonne watch he wouldn't be thinking about her all the time. At first watching Michonne had been an assignment, then it grew into a pastime, and now it was a full blown obsession. He had never even entertained the ideal of dating a black woman before, but he couldn't deny that he wanted her.

He had ruined things with Carol by being too scared to act on his feelings for her, and so she found someone who wasn't. Tyreese. It made him sick to think about, and a part of him hated Tyreese, but he couldn't hate Carol, she shouldn't have to wait around for him forever. She deserved to be happy. Now there was Michonne, a woman unlike any he had ever known, but if he told her how he felt she'd probably laugh in his face. He sighed he hadn't had to think about his feelings this much in a long while. He hadn't needed to, but along came Michonne to change everything.

"You know I've been thinking, Michonne said, I don't think moving here is very feasible , I mean our numbers are low, there's Hershel and Judith to think about, and the prison has too many advantages we'd be giving up."

"So what ya sayin?"

"I'm saying we load up those trucks we saw at the storage unit, and then drive them to the cabin, later we tell Rick, Tyreese and Glenn. We can all come back for the trucks. We could practically take this whole damn town."

"It'd take awhile, but yeah, someone might find the store, but they ain't gonna find that cabin, our shit would be all right till we made it back to the prison." Nothing like busy work to get your mind off of things Daryl thought, or off of people. "Sounds like a plan."

"Well then let's not waste this sugar buzz, let's go shopping!"

Loading up the trucks was hard, hot, sweaty mind-numbing work, for which Daryl was endlessly thankful for, because right now he didn't want to be alone with his thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6 When You're not Strong

Thanks to all of you for all the reviews and follows, they mean more to me than you'll ever know. This story is AU, and contains elements from the comics, show, and my imagination. If you haven't read the comics or watched all there seasons then** this story may contain spoilers.** If you're a fan of The Walking Dead then you already know that this story will contain strong language, sex, and violence. **Read at your own discretion.**

**6. When You're not Strong**

Michonne wiped a weary hand across her sweaty forehead, she and Daryl had been loading trucks for three hours straight, and Daryl was _still _working like a man possessed, Michonne couldn't keep up. She watched him, watched the way the sweat glistened off his body, she'd never known anyone who could make looking dirty as sexy as Daryl could. She admired his lean hard body, admired the way his muscle flexed effortlessly as he lifted boxes. Stamina and good looks, he was definitely the type of man she and her colleagues would have taken a Diet-Coke break for.

_"Get a grip Michonne_." Her boyfriend Mike's voice scolded. "_It may be the end of the world, but he's not the last man on the planet. The last thing you need to do is to get hot and bothered over some hayseed." _ It had been awhile since she heard her boyfriend Mike's voice, but here it was loud and clear. When she was alone chained to her boyfriend and his best friend she'd talked every decision she made over with Mike, as if he were still alive and could answer her, but really it was her just imagining what Mike might say in any given situation. When she joined Rick's group she hadn't needed Mike as much, but then there were times like this when his voice would pop up like a jack-in-the-box in the back of her mind. Sighing she picked up a box in front of her and carried it over to the moving truck they'd pulled up right next to the grocery store, but the bottom of the box split open, and the smaller boxes inside fell out all over the ground before she could even reach the truck.

"Fucking typical." She groused and bent to pick them up. Daryl spotted the mess and jogged over to help her out. Michonne picked up one of the boxes flipped it over and let out a strangled sob. It was a box of Coco Wheats, her youngest daughter's favorite thing for breakfast. Michonne stared at the box as if it were a ghost that had suddenly materialized.

"Uh Michonne you awl right?" Daryl asked.

She didn't hear him. It'd been so long since she had thought of her daughters, who were only four and six when they had died. She'd never allowed herself to think of them, because if she did her whole world would fall apart, the pain of losing both of them had been beyond any other pain she had ever endured in her life. The day of the outbreak she'd gone home to get her boyfriend Mike, together they were going to drive to her ex's house and get her daughters, but Mike died before she could put her plans into motion.

"No, Oh God, no." She cried hugging the box to her chest not even aware she'd spoken out loud.

"Michonne?" Daryl questioned and grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around. The box fell and hit the ground the noise sounded like a bomb going off in Michonne's ears. "What's wrong ?"

"The cereal." She said still staring at the box. "My youngest daughter Gabrielle, it was her favorite, she liked me to sing her the Coco Wheats song when ever I made it for her." She sniffed back tears, she couldn't start crying now, if she did she'd never be able to stop. "Every morning she ate it out of her little panda bowl, pandas were her favorite animals"

"C'mon." Daryl said pulling her away from the boxes. "Sit down you'll feel better."

She let him lead her away feeling numb with grief. He sat her down on the bench outside of the thrift store. Daryl put his arm around her and awkwardly patted her shoulder. The two of them sat there like that not saying anything. Michonne barely felt Daryl's presence she was trying to get back to that place in her head where her daughters weren't on her mind every single second of the day.

"Sorry about yer little girls." Daryl said after awhile.

"I went to get them that day, after I hacked up my boyfriend and his best friend and chained them to me. I fought my way to my ex's house, and when I got there it was too late. I had to put them all down." That was the day she had harden, it was like everything that was human inside her had died with her daughters. "My oldest Josie tried to bite me, and I almost let her do it. The look she had on her face when she tried to bite me, I'll _never_ forget that look." Michonne buried her face in her hands. "I should have never went home, I should have went to get my daughters first, they died without me they must have been so scared."

"Ya cain't think like that."

"I failed them, I was their mother and I wasn't there for them." Unable to fight them any longer the tears Michonne held in flowed freely, and she was crying all the tears she'd kept in since first killing her boyfriend and his best friend, she was crying for the guilt she felt for not being there for her daughters. She hated losing control, especially in front of someone, but the memories of her daughters came flooding painfully back, and she didn't know any other way to deal with them besides crying. She wasn't as tough as she pretended to be, and at the end of the day she was still human.

Daryl pulled her into his chest but said nothing. He just let her sob, shake and snot all over him. Every once in awhile he'd rub her shoulder, stroke her hair or pat her back, but he said nothing and Michonne was grateful for that. There were no words to make things right, so she just sobbed into his chest riding out the painful memories like a wave.

* * *

Michonne opened her eyes with the sense that several things were wrong all at once. First she had that eerie feeling of losing time, like several hours had gone by without her knowledge. Second It was now dusk out, but the last thing she had remembered was daylight. Third her body felt stiff as if she'd been lying down in the same position for quite some time. Lastly was the smell of sweat, grass, and a distinctly male sent. She sat bolt up right, Daryl! She'd actually cried herself to sleep on Daryl's chest.

"I fell asleep?" She asked.

"Yeah ya did, but it didn't seem right to wake ya so I didn't."

Michonne felt her face burn and was glad that Daryl couldn't see the blush creeping across her face. Of all the time she wished to get bitten. How long she wonder had this man sat there and let her use him as a pillow?

"Daryl I'm so-

"Don't, don't apologize."

"It's dusk now we'll never make it to the cabin before night." Michonne said. She slid down the bench as far away from Daryl as she could. She would have never given him the capacity to be so magnanimous. She almost wished he was as racist and pig ignorant as his brother, it would have made things so much easier.

"We can camp out here, I saw a camper ova at the storage unit, we'll sleep there, it's fenced in so we'll be safe."

Michonne just nodded. She felt vulnerable now that she had exposed so much of herself. She had not meant to, but Daryl's kindness had discombobulated her. "_So much for being the resident bad-ass" _Mike's voice said with disgust. "_You were undone by a hillbilly half-wit and a box of Coco Wheats."_ It was true, she had been undone, and admitted things to Daryl in her anguish that she had not admitted to anyone else, not even herself, and she wished she could press rewind and take them all back.

The camper wasn't as nice as Dale's RV, it was just a folding tent camper, but it had a bed and provided shelter from the mosquitoes that were treating the duo like a buffet. The two didn't say anything as they climbed into bed, with all the memories that plagued her mind Michonne had no space to feel self-conscious about sharing a bed with a man who was virtually a complete stranger to her. No it was like the beginning of the end for her all over again, and all she wanted to do is fall into dreamless sleep and forget the world had existed before now.


	7. Chapter 7 On the Road Again

This story is AU, and contains elements from the comics, show, and my imagination. If you haven't read the comics or watched all three seasons then** this story may contain spoilers**. If you're a fan of The Walking Dead then you already know that this story will contain strong language, sex, and violence.** Read at your own discretion.**

**7. On the Road Again**

When Daryl woke up Michonne was gone, he almost panicked, but then smelled coffee and cooking food waft into the camper, yawning and stretching he stood up and ground the sleep out of his eyes. After everything Michonne told him last night he expected her to toss and turn all night, but she had slept like a log. Daryl still felt a bit sickly, but he figured it was nothing that a little breakfast wouldn't cure. He pulled on his boots and steped out of the camper.

"Morning." Michonne called standing near a camping stove. "Can you believe the tank still had propane?"

"What time ya git up" He asked also noticing that she'd set up a dining area that consisted of two champ chairs, and a table. Daryl tried to work out how she was feeling, but as usual her face didn't reveal anything she didn't want him to know.

"I don't know, I couldn't sleep so I broke open a few units and went exploring."

"By yourself, are ya crazy anythin' coulda happened to ya." He snapped.

"Hello we're fenced in, and besides I was on my own for a lot longer and nothing happened to me."

"Well from now on tell me fer ya just go waltzing off, don't ya think that makes at least some sense, I mean if ya got into trouble least I'd know to come lookin'" He didn't know why, but ever since she fell asleep in his arms he felt extra protective of her.

"You're right, I apologize, I will never again go waltzing without your knowledge."

Daryl shook his head. That woman had such a damned smart mouth.

"You hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Good sit down breakfast is almost done."

_Breakfast?_ In all the time that he and Michonne had worked together she had never done anything like fix him breakfast, this must be her way of thanking him for last night. Not that he expected a thank you, he'd just did it because he hated to see a woman cry, it reminded him of his mother too much.

Michonne put a mug down in front of Daryl and poured him a cup of coffee. She was humming a little tune under her breath. Seeing her cook and act like little Miss Suzy homemaker was_ too_ weird. Though she had this whole other life before this, she had daughters and an ex husband, and then a boyfriend. The ideal made him feel lonely somehow.

"Here you go." She said sliding a plate under him and then sitting across from him.

"Fruit cocktail, Twinkies, and corned beef hash, now that's what I call a complete breakfast." Daryl said earning a laugh from Michonne.

"I cook from nothing but the finest cans."

Daryl chuckled and started eating, the hash tasted wonderful, and he realized that she must have added some spices or something to it, and she toasted the Twinkies. He took a sip of his coffee and sat back feeling relaxed, not a feeling he ever thought he'd feel around Michonne, but something had changed between them on this trip, they were no longer co-workers or even friends, they were kindred.

"This kind of feels like a vacation." Michonne said leaning back as well, being holed up in that prison all the time you kind of forget the outside world exist."

"It's more like time stood still, an' if we stayed here long enough we'd probably forget how the world done fucked us all."

"The world done fucked us all indeed." Michonne said and they laughed the laugh of co-conspirators. "I figure we could loot the rest of the stores today, then hit the road. We're already a day behind and I don't want the others to worry."

"Let's hit up that Army Navy store next, I've been dyin' to get in there."

"You can probably get yourself some more arrows, if they have that kind of thing."

Daryl nodded, and drained his coffee, polished off his plate and then helped Michonne clean up camp. They did all of this silently working around each other like a choreography.

"Ya ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Well then les roll"

The two set off walking side by side in comfortable silence.

There were no walkers in the surplus store, but it too was as untouched as the grocery store.

"Whoo-wee, it's like Christmas and my birthday all in one!" Daryl said looking around.

"Anything in particular I should grab?" Michonne asked.

"Naw, just grab awl the shit." It was like being in heaven grabbing all this stuff for free. Buck knives, scopes, camos, things that would make hunting so much easier. They even had a few crossbows, nowhere as good as his, but beggars couldn't be choosey, Daryl lost most of his hunting supplies and this was going a long way in making up for that.

They worked fast trying to beat the heat of the day. They went to the thrift store next. Michonne headed straight for the baby clothes, he guessed a mother never stopped being one. They took all the clothes they could find, even the underwear, everyone had moved past being grossed out by having to weari someone else's skivvies, in fact they would be glad to see them.

"Man are we gonna be the group favorites for a long time." Daryl said.

" We're going to get to pick the movies on movie night from now until the next doomsday."

The hardware store was their last stop, and they took as much as they could as quickly as they could. When they stepped out of the hardware store there were walkers.

"Looks like the beginning of a herd." Michonne said frowning. "We'd better hurry and put these roamers down before the rest of the herd catches up."

Daryl took this opportunity to test out his new crossbow. After taking out a few walkers he decided it wasn't too bad.

"Dixon a little help!" Michonne cried. He turned to see Michonne trying to hold off a walker that looked like it been on a steady diet of steroids before the Apocalypse. It must have knocked her katana out of her hands because it lay near her feet.

Daryl fired off an arrow but missed. "Shit!" he cried running over, Michonne was still twisting and squirming trying to break the walkers grasp, but this one was stronger than most. Daryl picked up her katana and sliced off one of the walkers arms. Michonne fell back.

"You OK, it didn't bite ya?"

"No." She held out her hand and he gave her katana back. She drove it straight through it's stomach and pulled out, it's guts fell out onto the ground with a sickening plop, and Daryl shot an arrow into its head finishing it off.

"Fuck me I thought we'd never kill him." Michonne said sighing.

"Roid rage walkers, now I've seen it awl."

"Ugh, let's just get to the cabin, I can't wait to get out of these clothes."

A mental picture of Michonne stripping down to nothing played in Daryl's mind. The way Michonne sashayed around in her tight jeans and shirts made him wonder more than once what she looked like naked. He shook his head as if to clear it, he was living in some kind of fantasy world, it would never work between them, it wasn't just the color of her skin he'd have to worry about, she'd been to college and had a professional job, and he dropped out of school in the eight grade. Then there was his brother, Merle would shit a ton of bricks if Daryl started going with her, and Michonne couldn't stand the sight of Merle. If it wasn't for Rick the two them would probably kill each other. His brother rejoining the in the group had placed him in a precarious situation, just as much as his feelings for Michonne had.

They said you couldn't help who you fell in love with, and for the first time in his life Daryl believed it, the last person on earth he would have choosen to have feelings for was Michonne, it complicated things too much, but the Apocalypse made for strange bedfellows.

Michonne followed behind Daryl's moving truck in her own, because he knew the way to the cabin. He was glad to be on his own again, when he was with Michonne she crowded out his thoughts. He decided right then and there he'd never tell her how he felt. His place in the group was hunter- gatherer not some horny high school boy in love. He snorted, what did he think just because she fell asleep in his arm they were going start a family and grow old together? It was better to leave things as they were, as they had always been. Guys like him didn't get the girl, they got dinner.


	8. Chapter 8 Into the Woods

Thanks for the reveiws/follows. I love writing this story. This story is AU, and contains elements from the comics, show, and my imagination. If you haven't read the comics or watched all three seasons then** this story may contain spoilers**. If you're a fan of The Walking Dead then you already know that this story will contain strong language, sex, and violence.** Read at your own discretion.**

**8. Into the Woods  
**

Michonne drummed her fingers on the steering wheel to drown out the monotonous noise of the tires on the road. Besides a few walkers there was nothing to break the scenery, just an endless stretch of road and rolling green fields. She wondered how she was going to survive the next two days alone in a cabin with Daryl. Once a man let you do something like cry all over him you couldn't go back to thinking of him as just some guy.

"Get out of my head Dixon." Michonne said to herself, but it was pointless she'd let him inside and he was there to stay. If she had to put into words what it was between them she wouldn't be able to, and maybe that was it, they didn't always need words. She had never felt so comfortable in silence around someone as she did with Daryl. She could let her guard down around him because she knew he understood her in a way the others could not. They were two loners who found solace in each other.

Michonne looked out of the window, pulling herself out of her deep thoughts, the sky was getting dark and the wind was picking up, the air had changed and she could feel a storm coming in, the smell of rain was heavy in the air and Michonne welcomed it, she couldn't remember the last time it had rained. She rolled her window all the way down wishing she could get out of the truck, with the rise in the humidity it was beginning to feel stifling. After what seemed like an eternity Daryl finally pulled over onto the side of the road.

"What's up?" Michonne called getting out of her truck.

"Gotta piss." Daryl said running down a path that lead into some woods.

She waited for him on the side of the truck, the sky was getting even darker and the wind was blowing in faster, over the smell of rain came the smell of death. Walkers! Michonne could hear them now moaning, they didn't sound very far away, she whirled around and off in the not so distance she could see them coming, a whole herd.

"Shit!" Michonne took off running for the woods she'd seen Daryl disappear into. "Dixon shake it off and put it away we got a herd coming." She called out as loudly as she dared.

"What?" Daryl asked coming out of the trees.

"We can't go back to the trucks a herd is passing that way.

"Fuck, how many?"

"Way too many to fight, look" She walked with him to the edge of the woods, and pointed in the direction the walkers were coming from. They watched for a moment as walkers swarmed around the truck and down the road with no end to them in sight.

"C'mon. Daryl said taking her by the wrist and guiding her into the woods, up that tree, with all this shit we're covered in they cain't smell us, and we'll see them, but they won't be able to see, we'll jus hafta wait em' out."

Michonne nodded. She didn't like the ideal but what other options did they have?

"You go first an I'll keep a look out." Daryl said.

Michonne was thankful the tree Daryl picked out had many low thick branches, it made climbing up easier. Daryl came up behind her having no trouble at all, it looked like it was second nature to him. Up,up,up he climbed as if the branches were stairs.

Walkers stumbled down the path into the woods, but they never looked up into the trees, they didn't smell fresh blood so they didn't bother to stick around, but even if they had walkers were too stupid to climb trees.

"Ya Comfortable?" Daryl asked when they'd found a branch high enough, wide enough, and thick enough to support them both.

"It's not the worst time I've had with my legs between wood."

Daryl gaped at her and she shrugged carelessly.

"Look at them, the fuckers, two different herds must have met up to make this big ol' clusterfuck right here. I hope we ain't up here fore hours I'm getting hungry." Daryl said.

"Try and think about something else."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, seen any good movies lately?"

"I got sometin', where'd ya go to college?"

"Stanford"

"Ain't that one of them brainy colleges, no wonda you always use big words"

"Both of my parents were professors, My father was a tenured chemistry professor, and my mother was head of the linguistics and philosophy department, she spoke five languages, education was the top priority in my house, the only time my parents ever really showed me affection, or seemed comfortable talking to me was when it was about studying, or school. They're not to blame though, they grew up with their noses to the grindstone, and never really learned to be social, education was the only way they could relate to me."

"Oh so _that's_ why you always use big words."

"Don't do that"

"Do what?

"Peg me with uncanny accuracy you haven't known me long enough." Michonne said.

Daryl l stared at her, giving her another one of his intense unreadable looks that made his blue eyes seem to burn. She wanted to look away, but those eyes, those eyes looked right into her soul. She always wonder what he was thinking when he looked at her like that, but maybe it was better if she didn't know.

It took over an hour to wait out the walker herd, and it began to rain as soon as the pair were back on the ground.

"Look on the bright side, Michonne said, at least it waited to rain till after the herd left." They ran back to the trucks getting soaked to the bone in the process. The rain was really coming down making the noise of a thousand people clapping. Michonne fumbled with her keys and then turned the wipers all the way on, and was back on the road following Daryl, but after for only a few minutes she had to pull over, the wipers were all but useless in this monsoon, she couldn't see a thing in front of her, She shut off the truck, there was no sense in wasting gas.

A knock on the driver's side door made her jump until she realized it was just Daryl. She opened the door and scooted over to the passenger's side. Daryl climbed into the truck dripping water and sat down with a squish.

"Guess we ain't goin' nowhere for awhile, after goin' nowhere for awhile."

"Doesn't look like." Michonne said peering out the window. Thunder rattled the windows on the truck and a few moments later lightning lit up the sky, as the rain continued to come down in sheets.

"I seen an old school less than a mile out of them woods, it gets any worse we might have to make a run for it." Daryl said shivering even though it wasn't cold out.

Automatically Michonne reached out to feel his forehead. "My god, you're burning up!"

"Think I'm coming down with sometin, thought it would pass, but I've been feelin' shitty for the past few days now."

"Coming down, whatever you've got is full blown by now, why didn't you say something earlier?"

"That's not how things work now, we don't git sick days, we cain't jus go to the grocery store fore meat anymore, _I_ gotta get it."

"That doesn't mean you're not allowed to be sick, it doesn't mean you're weak or the group will think less of you, it just means you're human."

"Ya payin me back fore when we was in the tree?" Daryl asked.

"No I'm saving you from yourself." Michonne said. "C'mon were going to that school, there's probably an infirmary there and you're going to need it." She hastily began stuffing things into a frame pack, that she'd taken from the surplus store, with everything she thought they might need for the next few days. "We should go now, that flu is going to put you on your ass before too long."

"How do you know?"

"I was married with children, trust me I know a thing or two about the flu."

They drove the trucks into the entry of the woods, and then started off down the narrow root filled path to the school Daryl had spotted earlier. It was darker and cooler in the woods, and Daryl's teeth were chattering, though it still wasn't particularly cold, he shivered violently, and when he coughed it sounded as if his chest was breaking apart.

Michonne tried to get Daryl to hurry but he moved at a snails pace, it was obvious he was already feeling like shit. He leaned almost all his weight upon her, taking in labored breaths, while sweating like a whore in church. They stopped for a moment so that he could catch his breath.

"I jus need to lie down for a spell." Daryl lie on the ground with his eyes closed. Michonne sat beside him and closed her eyes too, taking in some deep breaths of fresh air, it wasn't easy supporting Daryl's weight. Leaves rustled in the background and Michonne's eyes flew open, She listened out and heard the low eerie humming moan of a walker. Walkers were entering the woods, and the rain had washed away the sent of blood and guts that she and Daryl were once covered in.

"Come on Dixon, we've got to move, we've got walkers!" Michonne cried. She didn't know where they came from, they must have been lurkers, but it hardly mattered now.

"Just leave me here. Daryl exclaimed, yer jus' gonna git yerself killed foolin around with me."

"Shut up Dixon it's the fever talking, now stop making this harder than it has to be." With a grunt Michonne struggled to her feet lifting Daryl with her, one of his arm was strewn around her shoulder, and one of her arms was gripped tightly around his waist. 'You're just going to have to aim that thing till we get to that school.  
"Walker," Michonne said suddenly Daryl raised his crossbow and Michonne swung him in the direction of the walker. The arrow flew out and hit the walker

"Can't reload this thing with one hand, it's no use stop bein' so damn stubborn and leave me behind."

'You're really starting to piss me off Dixon." Michonne said. She leaned him against a tree, reload I'll cover you." Two walkers came at them as Daryl struggled to reload his crossbow. "I you told that you were sick, I told you to eat some soup, but you just have to be a Billy badass don't you." She stepped forward and furiously decapitated a walker.

"Ya know what the solutions is don't ya?"

"If you say one more thing about leaving you behind to die I'll kill you myself ." Michonne snapped and chopped the head of the second walker, then went to retrieve his arrow. Daryl reloaded, and the two started off again.

"When we get into the clearing we'll have to make a run for it, I know you feel like death warmed over, but you'll have to do your best."

It had stopped raining, and once they stepped out of the woods the sunshine burst brilliantly upon them almost blinding them. The duo began to run looking like they were in some odd sort of three legged race. Walkers stumbled out of the woods behind them. Michonne used her hip to turn Daryl in the direction of one of the walkers who got much to close for comfort.

"Shoot!"

Daryl did making the shot count, but the arrow was lost there was no way to retrieve it.

"Shit." Daryl said.

"Forget it." Michonne cried, she was worried about Daryl she could feel his legs shaking he wasn't going to last much longer.

"Cain't go on cain't make it."

Michonne looked behind her more walkers were coming, they were far behind, but they were still coming. The school now appeared directly in front of them, and now it was just a matter of getting to it before the walkers got to them. It was easier said then done Daryl would be no help to her before long. His head began to lull about as if he didn't even have the strength to hold it up.

"Stay with me Dixon, you hear me, keep your fucking eyes open." They had a pretty good lead, but that was being rapidly eaten up as Michonne had to take more of Daryl's weight he was fading fast, if he passed out there was no way she could carry him. She was staggering under his weight as it was, and he wasn't able to reload his crossbow, if they didn't get to the school soon they were dead. Huffing, puffing, and stumbling they made it to the parking lot Michonne was practically carrying Daryl now, his eyes rolled back in his head.

She dragged him up the school's steps not sure where she was finding the strength, and leaned Daryl against the brick wall of the school. Two walkers had made it up to the front lawn, and one was attempting to climb the front steps. Michonne gave it a hard kick with her booted foot and sent it flying into the walker behind it and they both hurled off of the porch landing one on top of the other struggling to get up, they looked like insects on their backs. Michonne drove her katana through their skulls then gave them an extra few whacks for good measure

She used Daryl's crossbow, like he had often done, to break the glass door of the school building. Dragging Daryl along with her she managed to find the nurse's office and lay him down on the hospital styled bed.

"Gonna, gonna hurl ." Daryl groaned.

Quickly she found a trashcan, and held it under him just in time. The contents of this mornings breakfast violently emptied themselves in a bright pink trashcan.

"Fuckin' cold." Daryl moaned even though he was burning up.

Michonne wiped his sweat soaked hair out of his eyes. "It's OK to be taken care of too, you know." She told him even though she knew he was past the point of comprehension. She took off his boots, socks, jeans, when she took his t-shit off she gasped. The scars! The man was like a road map of scars. She stared at the scars marring his skin, he had so many that it must have taken years to make them all. She hated to see them because she knew what kind of animal that made those scars, and still he'd managed to be one of the rare exceptions that didn't grow up to be a monster himself. She shook her head feeling sick and wanting to cry, but instead she got a washcloth from the bathroom and dumped water from her canteen on it and used it to gently rub Daryl down he sighed in relief.

Next She took the stolen cache of looted meds, from her frame pack, and forced the pills, and water down his throat. She covered him with some blankets, and he fell into a fitful sleep. In his fevered dreams Daryl called out for his granny, whimpered for his pa not to hurt him, and sobbed for Merle.

It was hard to listen to, but Michonne pulled up a chair next to his bed, and sat by his side, she would stay there all night or however long it took to get Daryl back on his feet again.

"Yer not gonna leave me are ya?" Daryl asked suddenly fighting to keep his eyes opened and focused on her, but he was losing the fight.

"_Sssh_, I'm not going anywhere." Michonne said smiling down at him as she rubbed his hair until he fell back asleep.


	9. Chapter 9 Stay in My Arms

This story is AU, and contains elements from the comics, show, and my imagination. If you haven't read the comics or watched all three seasons then** this story may contain spoilers**. If you're a fan of The Walking Dead then you already know that this story will contain strong language, sex, and violence.** Read at your own discretion.**

**9. Stay in My Arms**

Daryl jumped when he felt warm breath, and then lips on his forehead. His eyes snapped open to see Michonne staring down into his face. She was sitting in a chair her locs pulled up into a high ponytail. She was wearing a pink tank top and gray gym shorts.

"Calm down I'm checking your temperature not taking advantage of you."

"What t'hell happened I feel like I got hit by a semi." He groaned and sat up slowly he felt so damn drained.

"Whoa, take it easy." Michonne said when he tried to stand up, a wave of dizziness took him and he had to sit back down. He looked around trying to figure out where the hell he was, looked like a doctor's office to him, but that couldn't be right.

You're in a nurse's office in a school building, you were really sick so we had to make a detour." Michonne said and recounted the story of walkers in the woods, and running to the school

"You carried me all the way outta the woods?"

"Do you see anyone else Dixon?"

" 'An ya been takin' care of me awl this time too?"

Michonne made a disgusted sound in her throat. "I wasn't going to let you die."

"Thank you."

"I'm sure you'd have done the same." She said plumping his pillows.

"How long was I out?"

"Two days, you couldn't keep anything down at first, luckily I found some pedialyte water in the nurse's cabinet."

"Fuck! I missed two days, we're behind an I ain't even been huntin yet." He moved to get up but Michonne pressed him back down to the mattress and he felt too damn weak to fight back.

"Stop acting so pig-headed, when you're well you can hunt, until then keep your narrow ass in bed."

"Ya always been this bossy?" He croaked.

"Only when I'm right about something."

"I know, it's jus' huntin' is what I do, its my thing."

"Well don't worry no one is going to take the job from you, I told you I'm not a very good hunter."

"You must have done good enough on your own."

"Not really, I looted mostly, it took me awhile to get the knack for hunting."

"Don't worry, Daryl said, I got yer back, ya ain't gonna go hungry on my watch"

Michonne stood up and looked down at Daryl for a moment before softly sliding her hand down his face to cup his cheek. Her hands were soft, excepting the callouses made from continuously gripping her katana. He reached his hand up to cover hers rubbing his thumb across the back of her knuckles. How odd the pair of them were Daryl thought, they could feel so comfortable being so physically close to one another, but they were too afraid to speak what they had into life. Or at least he was.

"Are you hungry? I made chicken soup, you should eat some so you can take the cough medicine I found, you can't take it on an empty stomach."

"I could eat." Daryl said coolly, though his conflicted mind was screaming at him to tell her how he felt, knowing one way or another would be better then the limbo he'd put himself in when he vowed not to tell her how he felt, he'd already lost one woman because he couldn't express his feelings, if only Michonne would say something so he'd know that he wasn't imagining this spark between them.

Michonne left through the front door of the office, and came back in a few minutes with a school lunch tray, and put two pillows behind Daryl's back, who was now sitting propped up against the wall and his legs hanging over the bed. Michonne sat next to him, and put the tray across his lap. He laughed when she blew on his soup to cool it.

"What you think this is funny? You wouldn't be laughing if you knew all the other things I've had to do for you."

Daryl blushed he didn't like to think what Michonne had to help him do in the past two days. "I ain't neva been sick like that in my life, thanks for tendin to me"

"It's OK, next time I vomit you can clean it up."

Daryl cringed inwardly no way he could spill his feelings now. He finished the soup and took the medicine and he felt surprisingly better. "We're headed out tomorrow mornin, I already done wasted enough of our time." Daryl said.

"We should wait another day."

"No, we're goin' in the mornin'."

"You're being ridiculous, if you leave here tomorrow then you're an even bigger dumb ass than I thought you were, and that's saying something!" She snapped.

"Oh ya think so?" Daryl snarled. "Well we gotta eat, and unless you're gonna take your smart ass out there an' hunt then I gotta take my dumb ass out an' do some huntin." He shoved his tray violently to the side. "Now fuckin' git off my back." He was a damn fool to ever have thought there could have been something between them. All her kindness was just some act, after everything they'd been through she still saw him as just some dumb hillbilly.

"Wow that cough medicine must have been stronger than I thought if it's got you thinking you can talk to me that way."

"I'll talk to ya anyway I damn well please."

"How about we not talk at all, in fact we can go back to the days of pretending each other doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned."

"Good, finally I'll git some peace" Daryl yelled.

Michonne crossed her arms, and her chest filled up with air as if she were about to go off on him, but then she studied his face, and something changed her mind, and she unfolded her arms and let air out of her chest in one great sigh. "I don't think you're dumb, you just make me angry being so damn stubborn, you didn't see what you looked like. Your fever got so high, I was afraid you might not make it, you really scared me." There was compassion in Michonne's voice that Daryl had never heard before, compassion in her eyes for him that he had not seen before.

Daryl pulled Michonne beside him. "Relax, ya cain't get rid of me that easy." He said wrapping his arm around her, and was surprised when she scooted even closer to him and put her head on his shoulder. "The others are gonna start worryin' since we've been gone so long, don't think Rick would send out a search party?"

"Not yet, he has faith in us, or else he wouldn't have sent us to do this job, and look we're doing all right aren't we?"

"Yeah, we make some helluva a team."

Michonne got her way, they didn't leave in the morning, they didn't even leave that day. Daryl still felt too weak and so he spent the whole day in bed. On the fifth day of being in the same room in the same bed however Daryl couldn't take sitting, and even though he was thinner, paler than he had been in awhile, he went looting with Michonne.

"Ah the Principal's office, we should check it out." Michonne said She pushed the door open and headed inside.

The Principal's office was pretty basic, it had a desk and chair, a couch with a matching arm chair. A few tables littered with out of date magazines. There wasn't much in the way of anything valuable except for some clothes, books, and office supplies. Still they took anything worth having.

"Hate bein here feels like I'm back in school." Daryl said.

"I hated being in school too." Michonne said.

Daryl looked at Michonne shocked. "What? I thought ya liked school."

"I liked learning, but trust me being one of two black girls who went to a prep school full of rich white girls was not fun, I used to get in fights everyday, once I had my tooth knocked out."

"I useta fight too I usually won, not braggin, it's jus' after gettin' the shit kicked outta me by my old man the kids at school weren't shit."

"I lost a few fights, until my grandmother told me, 'the next time a girl hits you hit her back hard, and don't stop hitting her till she stops hitting you'."

"Yer granny sounds like a smart lady, I like her style."

"Yeah she was pretty special to me, like yours must have been to you." Michonne said. "When you were sick you kept calling out for her."

Daryl stared at Michonne for a moment, leave it to her not to just peer at the skeletons in his closet, no she walked right in and psychoanalyzed them. He liked that she didn't beat around the bush, she came right out and said it.

"Yeah my granny was somethin else, she was the only one who taught me anything worth a damn, I used to help her in her garden, she was real good wit me, neva got sick of awl my questions"

"My Josie was like that, always wanting to know why or how, she used to take things apart so that she could see their "insides." Michonne said laughing. "She was curious as a cat."

"Ya never even got mad at her did ya? You were a good mom."

"Not according to my ex-husband, he called me a bad mother, he said I worked too much, said I cared more about my job, and those "worse case scenario kids" than I did my own family."

"Is that why y'all split?"

Michonne sighed and plopped herself on the couch. "No, my reasons for divorcing Jason were so cliché that it makes me physically ill, I came home early and he was in bed with someone else. When I found them I didn't yell, didn't become violent, I cried, I was totally blindsided by his infidelity I thought we were doing good, but I got married too young and didn't see Jason for the bully he was"

"Well any man fool enough to cheat on a woman that can swing a sword, cook a meal, and save a life ain't worth keepin' in the first place. Daryl said sitting next to her. They stared at each other and suddenly the air felt charged with electricity, that unspoken thing between them was screaming out loud. He hadn't planned on telling Michonne how he felt, he hadn't planned on ever letting her know, but that was before now, he was sure that she felt something for him too, and If he kissed her this time he was sure she wouldn't cut his balls off, but he was sure it would change everything between them.

"Even for the Apocalypse this has been one strange trip." Michonne said

"Strangest one I've eva had without drugs bein' involved." Daryl said deciding to throw caution to the wind, he traced a thumb over Michonne's lips they felt as soft as velvet. Michonne's eyes closed and her lips parted slightly, he moved into kiss her, but she turned her head and he got her cheek instead.

"We should finish up if we're leaving tomorrow." Michonne said popping up like a jack-in-the box and taking her warmth with her.

Daryl pulled her down beside him again. "Would it be the worst thing?" Was all he asked, but Michonne understood.

"If things don't work out right we can't just walk away, we have to work together."

"Awl the more reason too, we hafta be around each otha, and what we're feelin ain't jus' gonna go away"

"When we get back to the prison things will be different, how do you think your brother is going to react? Think he'll be happy for us, think he'll welcome me with open arms?" Michonne said standing up and throwing her arms out wide.

Daryl mulled that over. He too had often thought of how his brother would react, not favorably to say the least. No he was bound to make his life a living hell until he finally broke up with Michonne, Merle had never liked having to share Daryl's affection with anyone.

"I cain't live my life fore Merle"

"So you can't live your life for Merle you still have to live your life with Merle, what if he makes you choose between us, what if he threatens to never speak to you again, how do I know you won't turn into Merle. Jr just to keep him in your life?"

"Let's get something straight here, Daryl spat angrily stepping up, stepping closer to Michonne, stepping right into her personal space, I ain't my brother, I'm my own man, he chose his way and I chose mine and that's all there is to it ya hear!"

"Yeah I hear, but you have no ideal what you're getting into, have you even dated a black woman before?"

"You eva dated a white guy?"

"No, but I've at least had white friends, I've been desegregated have you?"

"Since this shit happened yeah I have, I ain't perfect, I ain't no born again Christian, but I'm tryin' don't that count, or is it awl hopeless, and none of should even try gettin' along?"

"I don't want to end up hating you if things end badly, out of the few friends I have right now you're my best one."

"Best friends makes the best lovers, it's the end of the world an' the two of us lucked out findin each other"

"You really think we can make this work?"

"Know we can."

"I think you're crazy"

"Probably am, but I think we belong together." There was only a hairsbreadth between them now, and he closed in that gap, he could feel Michonne's warm breath on his face, feel the heat from her skin. She smelled like lavender. Daryl gently placed his hands on either side of her face and slowly captured her mouth with his, he groaned going rock hard at the feel and taste of her lips, kissing her was like eating a ripe berry, he'd never felt anything so erotic in his life, they fell back onto the couch their mouths never losing contact with one another.

The sound, feel and taste of Michonne was driving Daryl crazy, it been far too long since he'd felt the touch of a woman. His body felt like a live wire that only responded to pleasure, every part of him was aware and sexually heightened. When Michonne kissed that space right behind his ear, Daryl couldn't help but to start bucking his hips against her, grunting and panting , he kissed and bit her neck like the wolf Rick had dubbed him as, just a few minutes of touching her and he already wanted to devour her, but she was just getting started. She rolled her tongue into his mouth and did things with it he didn't think were humanly possible, and before he could recover she bit down softly on his bottom lip. Up until now Daryl didn't know lip biting could be a thing, but now it was definitely one of his.

"Fuck." He said when they finally separated his lips felt used and abused in the most wonderful way. He looked at Michonne her lips were swollen, and her chest was rising and falling rapidly, her rather large and pert nipples were poked out hard against the thin fabric of her tank top. She looked deep into his eyes not ashamed to let him see all her desire for him, her dark skin was glowing, and, lidded chocolate brown eyes burned like a flame inside of him, and the Cheshire cat grin was back. He felt his pants go uncomfortably tight as his cock strained against them, damn how he wanted her.

He kissed her again, harder this time his tongue forced her mouth open wider, and Daryl took his time to explore the shape and size of her mouth, and Michonne moaned as his erection pressed right into her, he wanted her to feel him, feel what she was doing to him. His kisses grew deeper and harder until he was bending her back against the arm rest, her harden nipples pressed into his chest, and sent ripples of pleasure straight down to his cock. Daryl willed himself to go slowly, but he didn't know if he could, he pulled her tank top aside exposing Michonne's breast to the air, he stared down at the smooth brown globes, nestling his face between them, her nipples reminded him of Hershey's Kisses he took one into his mouth wondering if they tasted as sweet. Michonne whimpered and wrapped her legs around him and began to rock against him. Daryl snapped his eyes shut trying to diminish the pleasure Michonne was giving him.

"Oh fuck." Michonne got out between breaths that were now coming faster and faster. He swirled his tongue around her nipple before gazing it with his teeth.

Not one to be out done Michonne wrapped her long legs around him and squeezed her soft body on his hardness, then with agonizing slowness undulated her hips against his like a snake." You like that?" She teased.

"I like ya, I like all of ya, yer skin, yer lips, yer grit, I like all of ya." He panted, he was breathing like he'd run up a million flights of stairs. Daryl pressed his forehead to Michonne's and squeezed his eyes shut trying to get a hold of himself, it had been so long since he'd been with a woman if he didn't get himself together he'd blow his load right now. He just have to use all of his willpower to get control.

When he felt Michonne's hands at the front of is pants he knew all the will power in the world wasn't going to save him. She slid her hands inside his pants, his skin goose-fleshed as her warm soft hand cupped his erection. His cock had been steadily leaking precum for awhile now, and she used that as lubricant as she squeezed then slowly stroked the length of him, when ever her calluses stroked his mushroom shaped tip it gave him an extra jolt of pleasure the veins in his cock reacted as if they had their own heart beat . She started slowly at first and the muscle in Daryl's stomach clinched as he felt the pressure building. Her speed increased and his breath hitched, he let out a guttural moan his eyes rolled back in his head as she cupped his balls.

"Michonne I'm gonna-" He wanted to tell her to stop, but he seem to have lost all control over his synapses, pleasure was all he could feel all his nerve endings seemed to be electrified he couldn't hold out much longer. He looked down at her as she stroked him and that did it. It was like a shot going off in his brain, it was like he was dying, Daryl erupted in a expulsion of thick white cum. His body jerked and shudder as his cock was completely milked. Wave after wave of pleasure swept over him."Shit. shit. shit." Daryl called out. The euphoria of coming was too intense to be embarrassed about shooting too soon. Every single one of his nerve endings was on tingling his cock was pulsing and twitching, and his mouth hung open as he rode out the last of his orgasm. "Sorry it's been awhile fer me." Daryl said when he was finally able to gain composer of himself.

"Don't worry you're going to make it up to me."

Daryl just smiled and shook his head, knowing once again Michonne was going to get her way.


	10. Chapter 10 Between Brothers

AN: Sorry it's been so long, but sometimes creativity is like trying to catch lighting in a bottle. The Andrea in this story is written after CB Andrea, not the TV show (R.I.P) Andrea. Thanks to the Dixonne fandom for being so Awesome.

**10. Between Brothers  
**

It was just after sunrise when Michonne and Daryl arrived back at the prison. They had skipped looting the other little town so as not to worry everyone, but they had managed to get some hunting done at the cabin.

Daryl hopped out of his truck and stood beside Michonne. "Prison sweet prison"

Michonne looked at the prison, and Rick, Carl and Glenn were running towards the gates, with Tyreese and Merle following behind.

"Michonne! She's back dad, Michonne is back!" Rick opened the gates, and Carl ran through them, and threw himself at Michonne. "I knew you two would come back."

She gave the young boy a hug. "Good to see you too Carl."

"Hey, Daryl welcome back."

"Hey yourself kid." Daryl said ruffling up Carl's hair.

"What happened to you two?" Rick asked.

"Long story, Michonne said, we'd better get these trucks inside and get all of these supplies put away before it gets too dark to see." Michonne said. "I'll get with Andrea about making an inventory for everything that we brought back"

"Trucks as in plural?" Glenn asked. "How much did you two get?"

Michonne and Daryl helped unload the trucks even though everyone insisted they should go to bed. After unloading the trucks Michonne got something to eat, a shower, and changed her clothes. She was tired and wanted to sleep, but she knew that Rick would want to know what had kept them so long, and so she met him in the conference room where they had all of their meetings. Daryl who'd been telling Merle all about their trip, well not all of it, met her there.

"That was quite a haul." Rick said.

"That's not all of it." Daryl said. "We got more trucks that we hid at the cabin, Sweet Hills was hardly touched and we took damn near everythin"

"Oh so that's what took the two of you so long."

"Naw, we ran into a herd, then I got sick, Michonne nursed me back to health, she saved my life."

Michonne felt her cheeks burn, Daryl's eyes lingered on her a little too long, and a little too wantonly for Rick not to know they had carnal knowledge of each other. He said nothing to Daryl, but tilted his head questioningly and cocked an eyebrow up at Michonne. She was sure he was noticing now the way she sat on the arm of Daryl's chair and how they were leaned in towards each other, or that Daryl's hand was resting on the small of her back. They had planned on not telling anyone about their relationship until Daryl had a chance to talk to Merle, until then they would keep things low key, but they were fools if they thought the others wouldn't notice that something had changed between the two of them. They had barely been friends before this trip and now here they were acting too familiar with each other. Rick wasn't stupid, and neither was anyone else.

"I thought we should take a day to get our affairs in order, and then head out to the cabin to get the trucks." Michonne said changing the subject.

"Take two days, Rick said, you two look worn out, Oh and before I forget Patricia, Maggie, Andrea, and Carol are all planning some great big dinner party tomorrow in your honor, I told them it wasn't necessary, but I think they just need an excuse to party." Rick said apologetically.

"As long as we don't have to make any speeches, and it's tomorrow and not to day it's fine with me." Michonne said.

"All right then, you two get some sleep." Rick said. "We'll talk more about it tomorrow."

"How weird is it that I'm happy to be back behind bars?" Michonne asked Daryl as they walked down the hall, and stood outside of her room. The sounds from the noisy video game that Carl and Glenn were playing in the library drifted down the hallway towards them. The whole atmosphere in the prison was buzzing, everyone was excited about what they had brought back. Hershel had new seeds, Carl had an old Super Nintendo, and Andrea, Maggie and Glenn were pawing though the CD's. Beth and Sasha were trying on all the clothes, it was like Christmas in June, or July or what ever the hell month it was. She'd have to r Andrea she had some kind of crazy calender going.

"So I was thinking yer room is big enough fer two, so why don't I jus move in wit ya." Daryl said, he scratched the back of his neck and squinted up his face while talking to her, and Michonne realized that he was nervous.

"You want to move in with me?"

"Yeah, why ya sound so damn surprised?"

"I just didn't think it was something you'd want to do, I know how you like your space."

"Awl my life I had space, I'm tired of being alone, I just want to be with ya"

Michonne kissed Daryl.

"What was that fer?"

"For being you." She said.

"I ain't neva been kissed fer being myself, I like it."

"I like that I get to see a side of you that no one else does."

Michonne kissed Daryl again this time biting at his lip the way she knew he liked and he groaned.

"Hey guys." Andrea said coming up from behind them. The two of them jumped apart like guilty children, but Michonne knew Andrea had already saw them, and Daryl blushing profusely was a dead giveaway. "I've been going through the clothes you brought back, a lot of them won't fit anybody so I'm making more winter gear out of them. Can I get your measurements?" She had a measuring tape over her shoulders and a clipboard in her hands.

"Sure."

"Did Rick tell you we're throwing the two of you a party tomorrow, and we won't take no for an answer, it's not formal, but we've got new clothes so wear something nice"

"Ya been takin notes from Michonne?" Daryl asked.

"What?"

"He's calling you bossy, Daryl thinks I'm bossy." Michonne told Andrea.

"I don't think ya are, I know ya are."

"Wow, you two must of really had fun." Andrea said winking at Michonne. She worked quickly moving the measuring tape around Daryl and then Michonne.

"Came back alive didn we." Daryl drawled.

"More alive than ever I'll bet." Andrea smirked. "Well my work here is done, I'll just leave you two at it."

Michonne watched as Andrea's back got smaller and smaller as she disappeared down the hall. "Well Andrea knows about us, and I'm pretty sure Rick does too, you should go talk to your brother before he hears about us from someone else"

"What's to say, we're together and he's jus' gonna hafta deal with it."

"Nice in theory, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm black and Merle's your brother, your racist brother he isn't just going to be OK with this, you have to talk to him.

"He ain't gonna do nothin to ya, I'll make sure of it, and he may not like you but he don't hate you."

"Yeah I forgot that before all this shit went down Merle was a Goodwill ambassador."

"I said I'd talk to 'em, what else ya want me to do he's my brother."

"This is exactly what I was talking about, if your brother never comes around are you going to be able to handle a relationship with me? The time to be honest is now, before we both get in too deep"

"C'mon now Michonne, am I really the type to jus jump into a relationship? Ya don't think I ain't done thought about this a thousand times? We'll make it work cuz we hafta I ain't losin ya"

Michonne closed her eyes and rested her forehead on Daryl's chest. She wanted to believe Daryl, wanted to believe that he did indeed know what he was getting into, but she knew that he didn't, not really, but she needed to be needed, she wanted to belong to him.

"Les go get my things, and if my brotha's there I'll talk to him."

Michonne followed Daryl back to his cell. Merle was there, his cell being right next to his brothers of course. "Where ya goin', what's ta matter I ain't good enough to live by no more?" He asked when he saw his brother packing up this things, he completely ignored Michonne who was helping Daryl pack too.

"Me and Michonne are together, and I'm goin' to be stayin with her". The two brothers eyed each other coldly for a minute, and there was so much tension in the air she could have cut it with her katana, she held her breath hoping there wouldn't be a fight.

"You an' Mi-chonne hun?" He asked, saying Michonne's name like it was a disgusting taste in his mouth.

"That's what I said."

Merle gave Michonne a hard look, a look that would quell most people, but she wasn't fazed, and stared right back at him unblinkingly.

"Ya don't got any pride do ya? Don't fergit where ya come from, who ya are, ya always been desperate." Merle said spinning on his heels and storming into his cell.

Michonne let out the breath that she been holding."That went better than I expected, unless he's just getting warmed up."

"I'll talk to him later, make sure he undastands what I have with ya ain't up fer negation, an that if he does anythin to ya me 'an him are finished"

Michonne smiled sadly she didn't want to come in between brothers. If Daryl didn't speak to his brother ever again just to be with Michonne he'd resent her, this she knew.

Daryl's cell was neat but sparse, he had not gone through any lengths to decorate his cell like the others had, no pictures on the walls, just sheets and no blankets on his bed. He had no other furniture other than a file cabinet which he used as a night stand. Somehow it made Michonne sad, it reminded her of the houses of abused children she used to go into, they'd often been void of any type of decorations, mementos, or colors as well. Their houses weren't homes and their rooms were just spaces filled with furniture.

It didn't take long for them to gather his things, and unpack them and set them up he didn't have much, and she kept things need as a pin, there was no room for disorganization in an Apocalypse, you never know when you'd have to run at a moment's notice. Michonne's room had once been an office, but she'd moved all the office furniture out and filled it with her own. The floors were carpeted a dullish oatmeal color, now faded after years of being walked on. She'd put down a purple throw rug to add some color. The walls were an equally uninspiring taupe. She'd taped pictures of colorful birds and flowers all over her room, she'd always loved flowers, and it drove her boyfriend Mike crazy the way she was always buying arrangements and putting them all over the house. She had a full mattress with a knobby purple and turquoise quilt with matching faded sheets. A set of milk crates doubled as her nightstand and bookshelf. Two antique kerosene lamps served as her lights. An old flip top desk was her dresser. On the opposite wall of the mattress was a computer chair and a saggy desk, she dragged in a beat up arm chair and ottoman, she covered the chair with a turquoise sheet and tossed on colorful pillows.

'It's cozy in here, almost forget ya was in a prison." Daryl said looking around her room.

"That was the ideal." Michonne pulled an Atlanta Braves jersey she used as a nightgown out of her "dresser" and slipped it on.

Daryl smiled at her.

"What?"

"Nuttin."

"What?" She asked again when he continued to grin at her.

"Ya look real cute in that ."

"Shut-up Dixon."

Laughing Daryl grabbed a pair of pajama bottoms and put them on. "I'm gonna sleep like a baby." He pulled the covers back so that she could crawl underneath them, mattress feels nice as hell."

Michonne snuffed out her lamps and the room was suddenly swallowed up in darkness, Daryl pulled Michonne into his arms, he was being quite, but she didn't mind as she was having trouble keeping her eyelids open.

"I rememba when ya first came, draggin them walkers, and Otis couldn't stop talking bout how ya saved his life, I don think any of us knew what to think, we neva knew anyone bein on their own as long as ya had, made me nervous, don think I stopped to think of what ya must have went through." Daryl said. Michonne could feel his breath on her face when he spoke. He was so close to her, and yet somehow he didn't feel close enough.

"Doesn't matter what I went though, it only matters where I am now" She said and moved closer to him tucking her head under his chin.

Slowly he put his arms around her. "I keep thinkin I'll wake up tomorra and you'll be gone, an' none of this will have been real, cuz I don' eva get what I want."

"It's real, and I'll be here tomorrow, after all you still owe me." They had not had sex since Daryl's premature incident, it didn't brother Michonne so much, but it seemed to have shaken Daryl's confidence.

"Don't worry I'm more than willin to make it up to you, I jus hope I can satisfy ya, Daryl said, I ain't got a whole lotta experience."

"What, and I do?" Michonne said.

"I don' mean that, ya dated and was married, I was neva even in no relationship, I was neva good wit women, couldn't even talk to em."

"So how come you can talk to me, Michonne asked, her eyes closed and they stayed that way for a moment.

"Ya ain't like most women, an I mean it in a good way, ya understand what it is to be a loner, but not wantin to be alone, neva feel like I hafta be anything but me around ya, ya just fit right into this empty space in my life." Daryl laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Merle was right" Daryl said.

"Right about what?"

"He said it'd be the end of the world fore I was able to git a women."

"Well you've got me Dixon, damn have you got me." Michonne said under her breath, but Daryl heard her anyway.

"I ain't gonna let ya go neither, ya think I don know what I'm doin, but that don stop how I feel about ya, and Merle don change how I feel, it ain't always gonna be easy, ain't always goin to be happy, but I ain't goin' nowhere if you ain't goin nowhere."

Even before the Apocalypse Michonne was not the type of woman to give her heart freely, but when she did give it, she gave it completely, no games, no take backs, no holds barred, that's why it nearly killed her when she got divorced from Jason, she had loved him more than anyone she'd loved before. Falling in love with Mike took her by surprise, because after all the hell her bastard husband put her through, she never thought she'd fall in love again. Mike was high school science teacher who mentored at-risk youth, a man after her heart. They were going to get married, and then he was dead. Daryl was not a scholar, he wasn't romantic, everything about him was still rough around the edges, but he had a kindness, and sincerity that she had never had with any man before, falling in love with Daryl Dixon was like being in a speeding car with no breaks. There was just no slowing down.

Michonne wished that she could remember this moment forever, because there weren't that many soft moments in her life, there was a certain hardness you had to obtain to live in this new world, but Michonne didn't like what it was doing to her humanity. Being with Daryl reminded her that she could still fall in love, and some one could still fall in love with her. It was an odd sort of love that was forming, a love born out of necessity, but much more feral and hot-blooded than any relationship she'd been in before. It was the kind of combination that could end up with them being the greatest loves of all time or the greatest cautionary tale of all time. Whatever they were going to be, at least they would be it together Michonne thought before her eyes closed for a final time that night.


	11. Chapter 11 For Every Piece of Me that

AN: Chapter title comes from a lyric in the song _You Give Me Something_ by _James Morrison_. This story is AU, and contains elements from the comics, TV show, and my imagination. If you haven't read all the comics or caught up on all three seasons then **this story** **may contain spoilers.** If you're a fan of The Walking Dead then you already know that this story will contain strong language, sex, and violence. Read at your own discretion. _Comments are welcomed and appreciated._

**11. For Every Piece of Me that Wants You**

Daryl had never had the privilege of waking up next to a woman. The past few days waking up with Michonne's warm little body next to him was a new experience and something he didn't think he could live without now. For the longest time he'd never understood why people felt the need to been in relationships. All people in relationships seem to do was hurt each other, lie to each other, and cheat on one another. He'd never known a positive example of love in his life, never known unconditional love, and so he had learned never to rely on people, because he couldn't. The time he'd gotten lost in the woods as a boy for nine days and no one even noticed had taught him that relying on yourself was your best bet, but that was no longer true you had to rely on someone or you died. He'd come to rely on the others in the group, and not just to save his life, but as confidants, friends and family; he had more friends now than he ever did in his life, and a meaningful job, a woman. How fucked up was it he thought, when everyone else's life was being turned upside down his was almost normal.

"Wake up Spitfire it's mornin', Daryl whispered to Michonne, les go get something to eat."

She lie there for a few minutes and turned around to face him. "C'mon even before the world ended I never got to sleep in." Michonne said and snuggled closer to him.

"Awl right, he wasn't a fool he wasn't about to get out of a bed she was still in, five more minutes an then we gotta get up."

"I think you already are up." Michonne said grinding into his erection."

Daryl reached out to brush her hair away from her face and she smiled softly, she was so beautiful, he wondered how he spent so much time around her without noticing it sooner. He grabbed Michonne's legs and placed them on either side of his waist.

"Screw breakfast let's stay in bed all day."

Daryl kissed her slowly in place of an answer, and she shivered he loved how she responded to him. She might have been a fierce walker killing warrior, but she melted in his hands. He unbutton her jersey and slowly pulled it down hungrily kissing her exposed skin as he went. Michonne stared up at him with wide eyes her expression was serene, and she stroked the side of his face and then his hair slowly, and it made him feel more relaxed. Whenever he was with a woman before he'd only fucked as a release of sexual tension, never had he dared to care about the women he was with, because they'd deemed him worthless before he'd even taken his pants off. Michonne was different though, she understood exactly what kind of man he was and she still wanted him. For the first time in his life Daryl understood there was a difference between having sex, and making love. he didn't just want to fuck Michonne he wanted to make love to her, he wanted to make her want him as much as he wanted her.

Michonne rolled Daryl's pajama bottoms off of his hips and he kicked them off to the floor. He peeled her jersey off the rest of the way and bend down and trailed kisses down from her lips, to her chin, to the crook of her neck before kissing and nipping her collarbone. He felt like he could live in her skin. Michonne's hand slowly started stroking the head of his cock, and Daryl was going to come too early if she didn't stop, no way was he going to have a repeat performance of last time, so he grabbed her hands and put them on either side of her head and started kissing her deeply using tongue and rubbing his body over hers. Michonne moaned and squirmed underneath him, but there was nothing she could do with his weight on top of her. She thrust her hips against him and the feeling was dizzying. They were so close now that there wasn't an inch of space between them, their bodies were pressed together creating a pool of sweat between them. "Do ya want me?" He asked. He'd never asked a woman that before, because it never seemed to matter, but it mattered with Michonne because she mattered.

"Yes, yes, Michonne hissed, now just do it."

Daryl needed no second bidding. He parted her folds and then grabbed the head of his cock giving it a few strokes before thrusting into her, filling her to the hilt. "So fucking tight," Daryl growled. He could feel her all around him, warm wet and pulsing, her muscles gripped him and he could feel them shifting around his shaft like a massage. It was more pleasure than Daryl had ever felt in his life and he started to thrust wildly within her out of control and with no sense of timing or rhythm. He looked down at Michonne, her head was back, her eyes closed, her mouth opened wide. She was moaning and mewing like a cat in heat. He didn't think he'd ever be able to get enough of her. She thrust upwards working her ass meeting him stroke for stroke rolling her hips working him for all he was worth. Daryl panted he could feel his legs shaking, he could feel himself coming apart. He gave Michonne a few long deep strokes watching her tits bounce, he wasn't going to cum until she did, he pulled almost all the way out of her, spread her, and then slammed back into her as his mouth smothered one of her nipples and sucked hard.

"Daryl!" Michonne screamed out so loud that it shocked them both. Her grip on him loosened and her head fell back, her walls constricted around him. She pulled him that little bit closer and he exploded with in her his cock jerked so long he wasn't sure if it ever stop. His chest heaved with deep ragged breaths, and he stayed with in her warmness for a few minutes wondering what in the hell she had just done to his body, orgasms he'd had, but this was something different.

"So ya do know my name" Daryl said when they'd finally gain composer of themselves.

"So you two are dating hun?" Glenn had asked as he sat across from the at the cafeteria styled lunchroom table. "I know it's because you both hate sleeves, right?"

Daryl and Michonne just stared at him.

Glenn scratched the back of his head "Umh right, anyway Rick wants to have a meeting about us going to get those other trucks."

"Where?" Daryl asked

"Conference room in about twenty minutes."

Carl came in shortly after Glenn did, and sat down next to Michonne, she lifted his hat off his eyes some so that he could see better.

"Thanks for bringing back the Harry Potter books they're really cool."

"And all it took was an Apocalypse for you to start reading." Rick said coming in and sitting down next to his son.

"You never read dad." Carl pointed out.

"Well I used to read all the time."

"Readin people their rights don count." Daryl quipped.

Rick opened his mouth to respond, but Andrea cut him off. "What's that smell? She sniffed the air, it smells like pancakes?

"Didn't you know? Maggie's making pancakes." Glenn said.

"Good." Carl said. "I'm sick of oatmeal."

"We're all sick of oatmeal." Andrea said, its the only damn thing we never run out of."

"Walkers, Daryl said, we never run out of them neither."

"Or roaches and mice." Michonne added.

"Or weird topics to bring up at the breakfast table." Tyreese said.

Daryl smiled as much of a loner as he tended to be, it was good to be back, he missed the camaraderie and the inside jokes that he shared with everyone. Today was a particularly good day. Everyone was full on pancakes, and even though there'd been no butter, and the syrup had ants in it, ("More protein." Axel had said.) for the moment everyone was full and happy.

"I'm gonna go talk to Merle fore a bit." Daryl said to Michonne who was busy listening to Carl regale her with one of Harry's many adventures. He found his brother in his cell sitting on his bed, and looking at an old stained copy of playboy.

Merle tossed the battered magazine aside when he saw Daryl. "Heard ya was goin out on a run, must think yer sumthin special sittin in Officer Friendly's inner circle, brignin back all them goods, fuckin that uppity nigg-

Daryl grabbed his brother by the collar. "Don't, don't you dare call her out of her name."

"Woo look at ya getting all ballsy, I guess what they say is true, once ya go black." Merle pushed Daryl's hands away as if he were simply flicking away a bothersome fly. "She maybe turnin ya out now, but jus remember blood is thicka than water, an ain't nobody gonna be there fer ya like I will, I'm yer brotha, yer family."

"Everyone here is my family." Daryl said.

Merle laughed. "When she dumps ya, and she will, I'll be the first ta say I told ya so, yer jus round to scratch an itch she can't scratch herself, ya know she'd rather have Tyreese fuckin her, all black bitches go crazy for Mandingo cock."

"Shut the fuck up Merle!" Daryl shouted. "Look jus don't go causin no trouble while I'm gone."

"Who'd fuck ya think yer talking to?" Mere asked indignant. I ain't a child."

"Ya sure the hell act like one, everyone else is playin by the rules why can't ya?"

"Cause we don do no fuckin rules, ya used to remember that, now yer jus Rick's bitch."

"I ain't nobody's bitch."

"Go on an leave, I'll be here when ya git back, I'm yer brotha, and I'm gonna always be"

Daryl left his brother's cell wondering how you could love someone so much when you literary hated them at times. His brother could fit in if he tried, things would be easier on him, but Merle never liked things to be easy, never liked following the rules, and expected Daryl to be just like him, but he wasn't. He'd changed when the world had ended, changed to someone better, and he knew his brother could too if he weren't so damn stubborn.

He headed back towards the cafeteria in search of Michonne. She was still sitting at the table, everyone else had gone.

"Sorry it took so long, things got a little heated with Merle."

"I wouldn't have expected any thing less, now come on Rick's been waiting for us."

Rick, Tyreese and Glenn were waiting for them in the conference room.

"I'm leaving Tyreese in charge, and I think the four of us should head out soon as the sun rises tomorrow, get the trucks and make a straight shot back, no more looting for now, with the four of us gone it leaves the prisons defenses low for too long" Rick said as soon as he and Michonne sat down.

"We got enough to get us through winter, iffen we ration more than enough." Daryl said.

"Plus it's smart to go when everyone's morale is high." Tyreese said.

"Yeah Maggie's not going to be happy about me leaving." Glenn said.

"Maggie is reasonable she'll understand. " Tyresee said slapping Glenn on the back.

"So we're all riding together right, I mean it makes the most sense." Michonne said.

"Yeah, we'll go in one of the SUV's." Rick said.

"Make sure you keep an eye on Merle." Rick said to Tyreese.

Daryl's jaw tensed when Rick said that, he hated for anyone to think badly of his brother, no matter how much of a asshole he acted like, he was his brother and they'd shared a lifetime together.

"So the plan is Tyreese keeps things safe while we're gone, the four of us will gas up and leave first thing in the morning and get back as soon as we can."

"Good plan." Tyreese said.

"Well if that's all I'm going to go get dressed for the party!" Glenn said jumping out of his seat and running out of the room.

"So what are ya gonna wear to the party?" Daryl asked Michonne.

"Oh it's a surprise." She said getting out of her chair and switching out of the room Daryl watched her go.

He had no ideal what he was going to ware, but there was plenty of new clean clothes. He went to the laundry room still trying to figure out what in the hell to wear, if it wasn't ripped jeans or sleeveless shirts he was at a loss.

Carol was in the laundry room folding towels, she paused when she saw him enter, and then continued folding.

"Hello Daryl."

"Hey Carol." He said shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another.

"You and Michonne, I have to say I didn't see that coming, but I'm happy for you."

"Sorry 'bout how things ended up between us."

"I'm not." Carol said. "You're one of my closest friends Daryl, but I'm in love with Tyreese, he lost his daughter too, and we bonded over that, if you and I were meant to be together then we would be."

"I glad yer happy, an I don hold nuttin against Tyreese, who could blame him fer fallin for ya."

"Thank you Daryl." Carol said kissing him on the cheek, I think Michonne is good for you, don't let your brother ruin your happiness."

"I won't." They stood there in silence for a moment, both thinking about their past and future. Daryl scratched the back of his head then looked up at Carol. "Ya think ya can help me find sumtin to wear to this party tonight?

* * *

The party was being held in the gym, which had been decorated like a high school dance. Balloons, streamers, and cut outs from every major Holiday decorated every inch of the walls. There were leprechauns next to Cupids, and Easter eggs next to stars and stripes. Tables had been dragged out and loaded up with food and drinks. Music played from the speakers. Everyone had taken dressing up very seriously. Maggie was in a flapper styled dress, and Glenn was wearing a suit, even Carl had managed to get in the spirit of things by wearing one of those tuxedo t-shirts and a top hat.

Daryl was wearing a blue long sleeved Henley shirt, Carol had convinced him not to rip off the sleeves, and a pair of khaki pants with no holes or tears, and a pair of leather loafers. He felt like a damn Mountain William and Merle would never let him live it down, but it was just for one night. He felt stupid and conspicuous just standing there so he poured himself a glass of Jim Beam and quickly downed it. He wonder where the hell Michonne was. Then he saw her and it was like on of his wet dreams come to life. She was wearing Daisy Dukes, a tight fitting pink halter top, and matching cowgirl hat and boots, she'd put her locs in pigtails, Daryl couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Ya git awl dressed up fer me?"

"What do you think?"

"I think ya look sexy as hell."

"Well don't get used to it this is like a one time thing," She smiled at him. "You look good, blue is your color it brings out your eyes."

"Yeah well Carol helped me pick it out."

"Oh really, how nice of her."

"Ya ain't jealous are ya?"

"You'd like that wouldn't you."

"Be lyin iffen I said no."

Michonne just laughed.

During dinner Rick gave them a toast, and then Daryl and Michonne told the group an abbreviated version of their trip, sometimes interrupting each other to add parts the other had forgotten, or finishing each others sentences, Daryl rested his hand on Michonne's thigh under the table and it felt so natural by now he didn't think anything of it. He was buzzed from one too many glasses of Jim Beam, and caught up in the excitement of being the heroes of the night. He didn't notice Merle glaring at the two of them.

"Time for the dance contest!" Sasha announced.

"Les get outta here." Daryl whispered in Michonne's ear. He didn't want to be anywhere near a dance contest. Without bothering with an explanation the two of them got up from the table causing Maggie to raise an eyebrow, Tyreese and Carol to exchange knowing looks, and Axel to suggestively wiggle his eyebrows. It was only Merle that had an angry look on his face.

"Hey guys wait up!" Carl called running after them.

"Maybe later Carl." Rick said catching his son by his shirt. "Daryl and Michonne need their rest."

"So that's what they're calling it these days." Axel said.

Daryl nor Michonne heard this exchange they'd run off to the library.

"Been dyin to kiss ya." Daryl said. No sooner were the words out of his mouth then he was pressing her into a bookcase, and his lips were on hers. Michonne sighed and Daryl ran his hands under her shirt and started to take off her bra but couldn't work the claps and so he just tore at straps ripping them apart.

"My bra, dammit do you know how hard it is to find a bra that fits during the Apocalypse?" Michonne cried.

"I'll sew ya a new one." Daryl said kissing her again, and absurdity of his statement made her laugh in his mouth giving him a very pleasant sensation. His hand popped the button on her shorts.

"Did you hear that?" Michonne asked suddenly.

"Did I hear what?" Daryl asked angling for her mouth, but Michonne pulled back.

"I thought I heard something." Michonne said and buttoned up her shirt and shorts.

Daryl looked around the corner and there was his brother standing in the doorway of library, how long he'd there he didn't know. From his position he couldn't see what they had been doing, but he surely heard them.

"Sorry didn't know anyone else was in here."

Daryl's hand dropped away from Michonne's waist and hastily stuffed her bra in his pants pocket,

"Ya gonna spend any time with me fer ya run off again, could be the last time I see ya alive"

"Instead of crying and whining every time your brother goes on a run why don't you come along?" Michonne asked stepping up to Merle with her hand on her hips.

"Ya really think Officer Friendly would let me go?"

"Majority rules, and I'm sure Glenn would like to stay behind to smooth over things with Maggie."

"What about it Daryl ya want me comin along?"

Daryl looked at Michonne for a moment wondering what in the hell she was up to. "Don't see why not."

"Good then it's settled I'll tell Glenn he's been replaced then we'll all go update Rick." Michonne said with an affirmative nod.

"What in the hell was that all about?" Daryl asked as they walked back to the gym.

"I'm smart enough to know I'm not going to win if I try and come between you and your brother, he's scared of losing you to all of us and to me."

Daryl realized Michonne was right, Merle was scared of losing him. All their lives they were all each other had. Merle had been vocal to him about that fear ever since they'd arrived at the prison. At first neither of them had fit in and that was just fine, but now Daryl had a place and a girl and that scared Merle. They never intended to stay with the group for this long, but then people started to look to him for food, for survival and Daryl had talked his brother into staying even though he didn't fit in and the others didn't trust him.

"Rick ain't goin to like this."

"I don't like it either, but I'm just trying to make things work." Michonne said.

Back in the gym they found Glenn slow dancing with Maggie, Daryl tapped him on the shoulder. "Change of plans, ya ain't gotta go on that run tomorrow, think of it as an early weddin present."

"Really?" Maggie said her face lighting up. "Thanks guys."

"Well that was easy, Michonne said, now lets go find Rick."

Rick was sitting in the bleachers talking to Hershel.

"Rick can we talk to you for a sec?" Michonne asked motioning him to the bottom of the bleachers where they were standing.

"What's up?"

"There's been a little change of plans, Glenn is staying behind and Merle is coming along."

"Merle?" Rick scoffed. "You want Merle to come along on a run?"

"Why not?" Michonne asked. "He can track and he's got military experience."

"Can we trust him?" Rick asked looking Daryl in his eyes.

"Corse ya can, ya trust him to git yer food doncha"

Rick sighed. "All right then if that's how you want it."

They left early in the morning, with Axel, Billy and Tyreese seeing them out. Glenn hotwired a Land Rover and Rick drove and Merle rode shotgun neither looked too thrilled. Daryl sat next to Michonne in the back seat.

"A helicopter!" Rick shouted suddenly. "Did you see that a helicopter!"

"Could be military we need ta follow it!" Merle said.

Daryl looked out the window and sure enough there was a helicopter. "Well if that don beat fuckin awl." He said.

"No!" Michonne cried. "Look! Smoke! It's crashing!"

Daryl watched with a sicking feeling rising in his stomach as a thick black cloud of smoke billowed from the helicopter as it swerved and swayed before it dropped out of sight.


	12. Chapter 12 When in Woodbury

AN:This story is AU, and contains elements from the comics, show, and my imagination. If you haven't read the comics or watched all three seasons then** this story may contain spoilers**. If you're a fan of The Walking Dead then you already know that this story will contain strong language, sex, and violence.** Read at your own discretion.** _Thanks to everyone who left reviews, favorited and followed my story. If you're a first time reader hello and welcome aboard, and if you read the story when it was posted the first time welcome back! The the story at this point is much different from when I first posted it, before I was trying to write a story that followed the comics, but it just didn't fit me so now I'm making the story my own I hope you'll like the changes and continue to enjoy reading. _

**12. When in Woodbury**

"It crashed near the creek, hurry Rick that's at least twenty minutes away!" Michonne cried. A helicopter she couldn't believe it, how long had it been since she'd seen a helicopter. Maybe Merle was right, maybe it was from the military and maybe there were more survivors out there then they'd initially thought. In all of her time alone Michonne had not run into many other people, but then again she had been trying to avoid people.

"Guess we'll be making a detour, Rick said, we should tell the others what's going on."

"Ain't no time, we got sum medical supplies we'll be awl right." Daryl said.

"No! I can't go off without telling Carl where I'm going."

"Fine, Daryl groused, hang tight I'll go tell the othas. He jumped out of the back seat and ran back to the prison.

"I sure picked a helluva time to go a run." Merle said rubbing his hands together gleefully.

"Awl right told em now les go!" Daryl said pounding on the roof of the SUV.

Rick pulled off and Michonne watched as the prison got smaller and smaller. She hoped there was at least one survivor the last thing any of them needed was more death. She moved closer to Daryl so she could look out of his window for a side road that would get them to the site of the crash quicker.

"I can still see the smoke through the trees, we must be going the right way."

"Maybe we should have taken a van if anyone is badly injured they may need to lie down." Michonne said. With the four of them it didn't leave much room for anyone else.

"Too late ta go back now Daryl said.

"What do you think a military helicopter would be doing out here, looking for survivors? Rick asked.

"Maybe they got sum kind of base set up, an they're givin out food." Daryl mused.

Merle snorted. "Doubt it, been months since we seen any kinda government, more an likely it was jus a couple of deserters tryin ta get the hell outta town."

"Why is this taking so long why couldn't the crash have been closer?" Rick lamented.

"Why don ya just cut through the field, what ya worried bout gettin a ticket?" Merle snapped as they drove by an open stretch of empty overgrown land.

"Good ideal." Rick said suddenly turning into the field.

Hey, fuckin watch it." Daryl cried when his head smacked the roof of the car.

Michonne rubbed Daryl's head. "How much gas is in this thing we were supposed to gas up but we never did."

Rick's eyes flicked downward. "A little over a half of a tank, we should be all right."

"There down in that dry creek bed behind them trees." Merle said pointing to the wreckage.

Michonne craned her neck to look out the front window and saw the helicopter sheltered behind the trees, it wasn't military though it was a news chopper. She could make out the channel 9 logo from where she was sitting.

Rick stopped the car and the four of them piled out. Michonne's hand instantly went to her katana. She didn't know if this was going to be a rescue mission or a mercy killing.

"Whoever was flying knew what they were doing the crash doesn't look so bad they could have walked away from this." Rick said.

"Yeah but they didn't." Daryl said. "They was carried away, look at them footprints, someone came an got em, someone closer 'n us."

"Only question is where did they go?" Michonne asked.

"Awl we gotta do is follow the footprints." Merle said and hunkered down by the prints leading away for the crash site. "I see at least six diffren types of shoes here."

They followed the footprints out of the dry creek bed until they led them to the road again, where they could see muddy tire tracks. "Look!" Michonne said stopping Daryl by putting a hand on his shoulder. "The tracks are going towards Woodbury, and it's only a mile away, that's where they must have gone." She pointed to the green road sign that read Woodbury one mile.

'"Ya think Woodbury has more survivors?" Daryl asked his eyes growing bright. "Could have supplies, or gas, or the people there might know somethin we don't."

"Either way it's worth finding out, walkers have been following us this whole time so we'd better get a move on." Michonne said.

"Walkers, I don see any walkers." Merle said.

"You don't need to see them, I can hear them, and just because we don't see them doesn't mean they can't smell or hear us, they're slow but they're following us, and when we stop they'll catch up."

"She's got sum special ability to track walkers." Daryl said and Merle just grimaced.

"Let's go back and get the car." Rick said. "I'm not all that anxious to travel on foot especially if walkers are coming."

"Too late they're already here." Michonne said. Stumbling out of the covers of trees the walkers made their way into the road. She raised her sword and lobbed the head off a walker. There were enough walkers to keep them busy for awhile, especially since they didn't use their guns. Rick was using a fire axe and Merle had a length of rebar.

"Worst timing ever." Rick spat they had killed most of the walkers, but there was just enough of them left to be annoying.

"Yeah, walkers are so inconsiderate of other people's time." Michonne snarked and sent another walker head flying. Then Daryl screamed. It wasn't a normal scream, it was a scream that made her blood run cold, and the hair on the back of her neck stand up. It was scream of anguish. It was like time had stopped, and Michonne was frozen to the spot for a moment. He couldn't be bitten. please, please, please don't let him be bitten she prayed. "Daryl" Michonne yelled and took off running, she didn't even think she just ran.

"Merle, Oh God Merle!" She heard him sob.

"What is it?" She shouted running to his side Rick right on her heels.

"Merle got bit, one of them fuckin things bit his fingers off!" Daryl shouted. He stood next to his brother who was missing two fingers off of his hand.

"First time out, an this shit happen bet yer glad." Merle said to a horrified Michonne.

"If he turns you understand we have to put him down." Rick said to Daryl

"We cain't put him down, I won't let ya." Daryl snarled at Rick when he pulled his gun.

"If he turns you know I'll have to, he'll come after you." Rick shouted.

Daryl raised his crossbow. "Ya ain't touching my brotha."

Michonne wanted to shout that arguing wasn't helping, but there wasn't time. Walkers were closing in around them gone berserk by the smell of Merle's blood, and Merle himself was fading fast, if no one acted soon the infection would spread and it would be too late. Michonne moved past the arguing men, and quick as a wink raised her sword, and in that brief second before the sword came down on his hand, Merle nodded his approval. The sword passed through flesh and bone slicing off Merle's hand like it had so many walkers before. Merle screamed out in pain.

Both Daryl and Rick turned their heads in unison to see Merle's hand go flying and flop onto the pavement like a fish.

"Git my hand somebody git my hand." Merle cried but it was snatched up and ate by a walker.

"Ya fuckin greedy bastard." Merle growled and kicked out at the walker that ate his hand.

"Get him back to the car, and Rick and I will hold the walkers off!" Michonne ordered.

Daryl quickly fashioned a tourniquet for his brother out of his t-shit and a branch, and the two of them headed for the car as fast as Merle's injury would allow.

Rick and Michonne worked on the walkers killing them as fast as they could, when they put the last walker down they ran and caught up with Daryl.

"Put him in the backseat." Rick said.

"No the hood, more room to maneuver" Michonne barked.

"He's lost a lotta blood, we gotta get him back to the prison." Daryl said, he was sobbing openly now.

"We should get the bleeding under control before we move him."

"Ya goin ta have to cauterize the veins, we got a butane torch, we got an iron skillet that should do it." Merle said weakly.

"Are you crazy the shock will kill you!" Rick said.

"If ya think that would kill Merle, ya don know my brotha."

"What other choice do we have?" Michonne asked, She got up on the hood of the car and put Merle's head between her thighs.

"My brotha OK wit this arrangement?" Merle joked weakly.

"Shut up Merle." Michonne snapped. "Rick give me your belt." Rick looked nonplussed but handed it over any way. "You're going to want to bite down on this, Michonne informed Merle, Rick hold his good hand."

Rick took a hold of Merle's left hand and held it down.

Daryl came back with the butane torch and the skillet. "Ya ready?"

"Do it an stop cryin like a girl." Merle said.

Michonne doubled over Rick's leather belt and shoved it in Merle's mouth. Daryl lit the butane torch with a woosh and put the skillet over Merle's bleeding stump and trained the flame on the cast iron skillet. Michonne closed her eyes, she didn't want to see. She didn't know which one was worse the sounds of Merle's muffled screams or the smell of his burning flesh. Merle's legs, the only free part of him, kicked and jumped off the roof of the car his torso arching up like he was having a seizure, and then he was still.

"He passed out." Daryl said dropping the skillet now that the deed was done.

"Let's move him to the backseat now." Rick said.

"He's going to be OK." Michonne said to Daryl she could tell that he was still very shaken. "We need blankets we need to keep him warm."

"We gotta take him to Woodbury it's closer he'll neva make it back to the prison."

"You sure?" Rick asked "We don't know shit about that place."

"Don matta, now come on les go!" Daryl shouted and jumped into the drivers seat. Rick got in the passenger's seat which left Michonne in the back as Merle's unwilling nurse.

Daryl flew down the road like a bat out of hell, and came upon Woodbury so fast he almost overshot it. The town was protected by a wooden wall and armed guards at the gate.

"We need help please." Rick said to the nearest armed guard. "Our friend he's dying.

While Merle was rushed to the hospital Michonne, Daryl and Rick were frisked, their weapons were taken, and they were brought to a small warehouse room with an office table and folding chairs and nothing else. The room was closed up and stifling hot.

A young man in military fatigue came into the room.

"Your friend is alive Dr. Stevens cleaned him up and has got him on pain killers and antibiotics."

"When can we see him?" Daryl asked.

"What happened to our weapons?" Michonne asked.

"I'll take you to see your friend shortly, and we've taken your weapons for now, but it's standard procedure when ever someone new comes to Woodbury. Once you meet with The Governor he'll give them back, but don't worry we have a small army, so you'll be safe here. We also have a hospital, a church, a school, and a grocery store. For all intents and purposes we are a fully functioning town, and our first goal is to protect our civilians."

"Fully functioning you mean you have electric here?" Rick asked.

"The town was hit by a huge tornado once and we were out of power for weeks, so the mayor invested the town's taxes in generators, but it looks like you've guys have been through the wringer why don't I take you to see your friend and then show you where you'll be staying."

"Ah, thank you-

"Martinez, you guys can call me Martinez."

The hospital was pretty small, but with hardly anyone in it the place felt big and empty.

"Ya'll sit here an I'll go check on my brotha." Daryl said following Martinez through doors that said Admin Only. Daryl still seemed to be taking what happened to his brother pretty hard, Michonne thought for the first time he was realizing what it would be like to lose his family completely. Michonne knew only too well what that pain was like.

"You really took charge out there when Merle lost his hand, where did that come from?" Rick asked. Michonne sat beside Rick in the waiting room and it felt strange being in a hospital and not having any forms to fill out.

"I don't know, I can't stand Merle, but Daryl shouldn't have to lose his brother, no one should lose everyone they love, I wouldn't even wish that on my worst enemy."

Rick chuckled. "Yet you act so hard."

"Don't tell anyone I'm really not you'll ruin my rep." Michonne sighed deeply. "I think Daryl blames me I'm the one who asked Merle to come."

"I don't think so, but he'll come around if he does." Rick said.

"A whole town of survivors can you believe it?" Michonne asked changing the subject. She didn't feel like discussing her love life with Rick.

"Yeah maybe we could move here, they sure do have the room, but until we can trust them more let's not tell them about the prison."

"Trust me they aren't getting any unnecessary information out of me." Michonne picked up an old copy of People off one of the tables and began flipping through it, she wasn't interested in it but she just needed the distraction. She couldn't get the image of Daryl's ashen horrified face out of her mind, or the sounds of Merle's screams. You never got a break from death or dying in this world. Never.

When Daryl came out of his brother's room he still seemed drawn and shaken, but he let Michonne hug him and stayed in her embrace for quite sometime. He sat down and she sat down next to him.

"He's gonna make it, he's a tough son of a bitch. Dr. Stevens wants to keep him here for awhile an make sure he don get an infection"

"I'm going to find Martinez see if he's found a place for us to stay yet." Rick said getting up from his seat and giving the two of them a chance to be alone.

"You OK?" Michonne asked looking into Daryl's eyes.

"Am now, don't know bout Merle, two black women saved his life, he'll neva git ova it." They both laughed.

"I'm glad he's OK." Michonne said truthfully.

"I'm glad we're all OK, sorry we'll be stuck here fer awhile, cain't go nowhere til Merle gets betta."

"Well this place doesn't seem so bad so far, I don't like that they took our weapons though."

"Me neither but they wasn't gonna let us in the hospital with em. I suppose ya can't blame em."

"Long as they give us our weapons back we won't have a problem." She refused to leave this place without her katana and whether they gave it to her or she took it was up to them. "So what now?"

"Now you get the grand tour."

Both Michonne and Daryl's head snapped up when they heard a third voice speak.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you, I'm the guy they call The Governor around this place."

"The Governor?" Michonne asked raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't come up with it, my brother Philip was governor of Woodbury and I was his assistant. After the outbreak he got the town up and running and when he died I just picked up where he left off and everyone keep saying there's a new Governor in town and the name just stuck.

"Thank ya, thank ya fer takin care of my brotha." Daryl said.

"No need to thank me that's what we're here for, now how about that tour."

Rick was waiting outside for them. "We've been set up in a duplex, I thought the two of you might like some privacy." Rick nodded to The Governor, "I want to thank you for taking us in and saving Merle."

"No thanks needed, like I told your friends we set up Woodbury to help people. We managed to wall off five blocks of and we're working on a sixth." The Governor told them as they made their way outside.

Woodbury reminded Michonne of Sweet Hills only populated. People walked up and down the streets and in and out of the few shops that were open. The sounds of children's laughter rang up and down the street, and she could even smell someone cooking out. "Do people always walk around so freely, aren't you afraid of an attack?"

"We have armed guards on all the walls, and we do patrols daily and nightly."

"So when ya gonna give us our weapons back?" Daryl asked. "Ya saved my brotha's life so ya don have to worry bout us attackin ya."

"Have the four of you been out on the road long?" The Governor asked.

"Yes, we all met up in Atlanta and we've been living out of the Land Rover scavenging whatever we can find." Michonne said. It was a story they had all made up in the car on the way to Woodbury, until they knew they could trust everyone they weren't going to mention the prison.

"Is that right, well it's a good thing you came to Woodbury then, we'll get you set up in a house and get your weapons back to you."

* * *

Their first stop, even before seeing their duplex for the first time, was the hospital. Merle looked drawn and pale but otherwise appeared to be the same old onion-headed foul mouth racist that she wanted to punch in the face. Let it never be said that she didn't have restraint. Daryl on the other hand was practically beside himself at having been separated from his brother so long.

Merle was propped up on pillows with a tray across his lap Daryl sat on his bed and Michonne and Rick sat in chairs. There was a young nurse in the room she kept her long red hair pulled back in a French braid and Merle kept pulling on the end of it, but she ignored Merle as if he simply didn't exist and did her work around him.

"C'mon Alice why ya gotta be like this? Cain't ya see I'm in pain don't ignore me."

"Knock it off Merle an let do her job." Daryl snapped at his brother.

"I ain't stopping her am I? Sides I though nurses we're supposed ta be caring."

"She's not a saint everyone has their limits" Michonne said and Alice smiled.

"How long is my brotha gonna hafa be in here?"

"Dr. Stevens wants to keep him here for at least three weeks since the risk for infection is so high outside of the hospital."

Michonne and Rick exchanged looks. Three weeks! They couldn't stay away for three weeks, but what choice did they have? She did not feel comfortable enough with these people to give up the location of the prison no matter how friendly they were being.

"Three weeks shit I don need ta be in here no three fuckin weeks."

"Do you understand the risk for infection?" Alice asked. "You're going to have to change your diet, you're going to have to exercise that arm this is a whole new way of life you're going to have to get used to!"

"He'll stay." Daryl said. "An he'll do whateva You an Dr. Stevens tells him to won't ya Merle."

"They'll probably try an kill me." Merle muttered.

"If were going to kill you we'd of done it by now." Alice said.

They stayed with Merle until visiting hours were over.

Daryl was never one much for PDA's but as they left Merle's room he took her hand it was probably the closest thing he'd ever say to,_ I need to lean on you right now,_ and Michonne squeezed his hand back. They walked in silence as they made their way out of the hospital and Daryl swung their hands in a distracted sort of way.

The Governor was waiting for them in the lobby "How is your brother doing?"

"A lot betta thanks again fer takin care of him."

"Really there's no need to thank me I'm just doing what needs to be done." The Governor answered Daryl but Michonne noticed she was staring at her.

"Not many people with this much power would be as magnanimous as you in this type of situation." She said

"I want you to think of this place as your home, and if you want it you have a place here I only ask you abide by a few basic rules while you're here in Woodbury. We have a strict curfew no one outside of the walls after seven o clock and everyone in doors by nine. I know it sounds harsh but our first goal is to protect our civilians, and secondly it conserves energy"

Martinez had said the same thing about protecting civilians and Michonne wonder if it their motto.

"No carrying your weapons on you when you're in town. We've got armed guards and patrols for that. I want to maintain as much normalcy around here as I can. You'll need to check in and out if you leave Woodbury, this is for safety also we do warm body counts to make sure no one goes missing. If you feel you can't abide by any of these rules for any reason you're free to leave, but with the condition you're friend is in I'd abide against it."

"We'll follow your rules." Rick said.

"Good, since you say you've been out on the road for awhile I was wondering if you wouldn't mind taking up one of the patrols."

"Course not." Daryl said.

"It's settled you can take up the ten o clock patrol with Cesar Martinez and Frank Shumpert, The Governor smiled at her." Something in his smile didn't sit right with Michonne it was calculating as if he was trying to workout where he'd seen her before and Michonne didn't like it.

"Let me show you will you'll be staying."

He led them to a small pink stucco duplex. "Rick you're on the right and Michonne and Daryl are on the left. Rick informed me the two of you are a couple" He unlocked the doors to both of the duplexes, but they stepped inside the one she and Daryl would be staying in first.

"Nice." Daryl said looking around.

"Glad you like it, we've given you a ration of food, some toiletries, and some clothes and shoes we had to guess at the sizes."

"Thanks." Rick said.

"Finally here are your weapons."

The Governor handed Michonne her katana first and she slung it over her shoulder feeling complete. Her katana had saved her life more times than she could remember and beside her pet walkers it had been her faithful companion when she was on the road by herself.

"Well I'll leave you three to get settled in."

"Thanks for all of this we really do appreciate it." She told The Governor.

'You're welcome Michonne, and I hope you'll have a wonderful stay in Woodbury.

* * *

After Michonne and Daryl got all their things put away Rick came over for dinner, and since she had ovaries it some how fell on her to cook, even though cooking was nothing more than opening boxes and boiling water.

"I'm starting to get worried about what Carl must be thinking. He already lost his mom and now he probably thinks he's lost me too, three weeks is a long time not to hear from me I'm going to have to find some way to contact him I just can't keep putting him through all this shit."

"What we gonna do? I still don know if we can trust this place."

"I don't think we should risk going back to the prison just yet, Woodbury has a lot of firepower and that makes me uneasy." Michonne said.

"You have a point, Rick said. On the tour The Governor showed me a tank. They have an actual tank here, no one knows how to use it, but still they have a tank."

"One person usually doesn't acquire this much power through peaceful means." Michonne said.

"While you two were in the waiting room I talked to the The Governor. He he kept asking about how we'd met, it was like what we police do when we interrogate a suspect and we try to catch them in a lie. I changed the subject and asked him what happened to the people from the helicopter crash he said that they all died"

"Didn't look like a deadly crash to me." Michonne said.

"That's what I said, he seemed perturbed that I'd questioned him, I get the feeling people here don't question him, and don't question what he does."

"Folks'll turn a blind eye to anythin iffen ya keep em fed an protected." Daryl said.

"So what are you going to do about getting in contact Carl?" She felt just as worried as Rick. Carl was probably back at the prison holding everything in and pretending he was fine when the others asked about him.

"We've got to wait until the hospital releases Merle anyway, so in that time we might as well get a feel for this place and if we feel like we can trust Woodbury then we tell them about the prison if not we get Merle and leave this place." Rick suggested.

At ten o clock the group went patrolling. There were nine walkers in all and the trio put them down routinely without help from Martinez or Shumpert.

"Man you guys are like some serious road warriors did you pick those skills up when you were in Atlanta?

"Jus got a system is all." Daryl told Martinez.

"So how long did it take to get your whole system down? You guys seem like you've know each other far a long time." Martinez persisted.

"We all just want to stay alive so we learn fast." Michonne said and flicked her katana bloodless.

"You guys want to get a few beers down at Spare Parts" Shumpert asked.

"What's Spare Parts?" Rick asked frowning.

"The finest and only bar in Woodbury complete with a jukebox stocked with the finest music the 90's had to offer." Shumpert said with a grin.

"Is there a pool table?" Daryl asked asked.

"Yeah."

"Well count me in."

As the week passed Michonne, Daryl and Rick fell into a routine. They visited Merle in the mornings, spent their afternoons free and, their evenings were split between another visit with Merle and staying home or hanging out with Martinez, Shumpert, Valerie and Alice who'd become the closest things to friends they had in Woodbury. At night they went on patrol, and had beers down at Spare Parts with Martinez and Shumpert before turning in. Michonne convinced Alice and Dr. Stevens, whose first name was Valerie, to come along so she wouldn't be the only woman.

"I'm glad you talked me into coming here and getting out of that hospital. I forget sometimes that there's a whole world outside of death, guts, and my teenaged daughter" Valerie said.

"You have a teenaged daughter?" Michonne asked her mouth falling open.

"I'm forty-one how old did you think I was?"

"I thought you were in you're late twenties."

"Twenties you're too kind."

Michonne noticed that Valerie's eyes however like most people she'd run into looked much older than forty-one. Everyone, even children, had a look in their eyes of someone who lived a very long and hard life.

"What'll you have?" The bartender asked.

"I'll take a cherry vodka sour." Michonne said and smiled. She was actually ordering a drink at a bar.

"So what's the story with William Tell is he your boyfriend?" Alice asked. "I saw the two of you holding hands."

"Yeah we're together." The bartender put her drink down in front of her and Michonne ate the cherry and then slammed down the drink. The alcohol buzz hit her hard and she was grateful for the feeling.

"Lucky you he's cute in a scruffy backwoods kind of way."

Michonne shrugged.

"What about the other one?" Alice asked.

"Rick's in mourning." Michonne said. "Don't ask him about it though you'll only stir up bad memories." Michonne order another cherry vodka sour . She felt awful for Carl sitting back at the prison wondering where his father was and probably trying to take care of Judith all on his own. They really did have to get out of Woodbury the place was like some beautiful nightmare. She paused in her musing for a second to look at her glass, which was more than half empty man she had to stop drinking.

"What do you say another round? Valerie asked. "If I get drunk enough maybe I'll convince myself that all the good I'm doing is worth all the awful shit I over look in order to stay here"

Alice elbowed Valerie in her side and gave her a warning look. "Or maybe you had too much to drink Doctor and you should shut up now."

"Something wrong?" Michonne asked.

"No we've just got an early day tomorrow we're gonna call it a night.''

Michonne watched the two woman go and wondered just what it was they were over looking in order to stay at Woodbury. Whatever it was, it was enough for Valerie to want to get enough to forget about it.

During their second week of patrolling Martinez began to rapidly question them about where they were from. All three gave the same living as scavenging nomads answer every time he asked, but it was evident to Michonne that The Governor' didn't believe the little story they concocted earlier and was hoping to catch them slipping.

"Sorry about being so nosy." Martinez said after questing them for the umpteenth time on patrol one night. "Hey, why don't I get someone else to do our patrol tomorrow and we'll all go to watch the game at the school Friday night, and have a few beers."

"Game what game, you guys have a football league or something?" Rick asked.

Martinez smirked at Shumpert. "Just come, trust me you won't be disappointed."


	13. Chapter 13 Dead on the Inside

This story is AU, and contains elements from the comics, show, and my imagination. If you haven't read the comics or watched all three seasons then** this story may contain spoilers**. If you're a fan of The Walking Dead then you already know that this story will contain strong language, sex, and violence.** Read at your own discretion.**

**13. Dead on the Inside**

Daryl visited his brother as soon as visiting hours in the hospital began. Michonne came with him even though he knew she couldn't stand Merle. Daryl hated to admit that she was justified in her dislike. His brother still acted like a self-entitled idiot racist, but if he tried to talk to Merle about it he wouldn't listen. It wasn't just Michonne he was on bad terms with either the whole group was getting sick of him. Daryl loved his brother with all his being. Merle was his best friend but sometimes an awful person. He knew his brother had it in him the capacity to be good, to be a better man than he was now, but sometimes he worried that maybe he didn't. Still he couldn't abandon him especially not now when he needed him his brother had always been there for him when it really counted, and when it came to family Merle was all he had left in this world.

"What ya lookin at me like that fer?" Merle snapped. "Ya neva seen a one handed man before?"

"Jus wonderin how ya keep gettin uglier day by day." Daryl joked with his brother like they did when they were younger. His brother had guessed the wrong reason for him staring and he was glad.

"Ain't ya gonna say hi Mi-Chonne?"

"Nope."

Merle chuckled. "I'm runnin a feeva an Dr. Stevens wants ta keep me another week or so, but I tole her hell no. I'm goin stir crazy in this fuckin place." Daryl watched as his brother got out of his bed and looked out the window. It felt weird to see Merle handicapped in anyway all his life Merle had been his protector. "Ain't got nuttin to do but practice jerkin off left handed."

"That's more than I ever wanted to know". Michonne said without looking up from the magazine she was reading.

"If Dr. Stevens says ya need to stay then yer gonna stay." Daryl said.

"I'd rather be a walker then be cooped up here."

"Shut the fuck up Merle! don say shit like that." Daryl snapped.

"I'll say whateva the fuck I want to."

"An I'll tell you to shut the fuck up whenever I want to!"

"I might only have one hand but I can still whoop yer ass wit it."

"You boys need a juice box and a nap?" Michonne asked one of her eyebrows was perfectly arched as if to punctuate their stupidity.

Daryl almost said he started it, but realized how immature that would sound and so he just grimaced instead.

Merle lie back down on the bed. "Feels strange keep tryin ta grab shit wit my right hand but it ain't fucking there.'' He held up his stump. "Maybe I could put a hook on the end of this."

"Jus be real careful when wipin yer ass." The two brothers dissolved into laughter. It felt like old times when they often had to make each other laugh to lessen the pain from whatever ass beating they had gotten that day. Their relationship was always mercurial, but If he'd lost Merle he didn't know what he' do, but it probably wouldn't be good. He owed Michonne a debt of gratitude that he could never express. She'd saved both of the Dixon boys life.

It was only Wednesday and the week seemed to be moving as quickly as blackstrap molasses in winter. All Daryl could think about was getting back to the prison, but with his brother running a fever there was no way the could risk going out on the road. If they ran into a herd his brother's chance of survival wouldn't be good. They could wait it out.

Dr. Stevens was having a dinner party at her house. Daryl did not want to go but Michonne convinced him it was just for a few drinks. Rick seemed eager to go and so Daryl tagged along.

Valerie's house was robin's egg blue with three bedrooms. Daryl knocked and a few seconds later a young tall black girl answered the door. "Hi, You must be mom's new friends." She stepped back and let them inside. "Hang on a sec and I'll go get my mom." The young girl went to the bottom of the stairs and yelled. "MOMMA YOUR FRIENDS ARE DOWN HERE WAITING FOR YOOOU!"

A few moments later they heard footsteps on the stairs. "Girl what have I told you about screaming?"

The young girl put her hand on her hip. "You told me to tell you when they got here."

"I didn't say to yell Tasha, now go up stairs."

"I want to come to the party." She pouted.

"No! Don't make me tell you something twice."

Tasha rolled her eyes sighed loudly and stomped upstairs.

"Now you can just come back down these steps and go up them nicely Miss Lady." Valerie called.

Tasha did as her mother ordered, and went back up the steps without rolling her eyes our sighing but Daryl could still tell she wasn't happy.

"She's upset because I won't let her stay up and have drinks with you guys."

"Drinks? How old is she?" Rick asked.

"Fourteen going on forty." Valerie answered. "She thinks its unfair that I won't let her drink since there's no laws and she could die tomorrow."

Daryl remembered Carl trying to make the same argument once. He looked over at Rick and he seemed to be having the same memory. He couldn't imagine how hard it must be for him to be separated from Carl so long.

"Hey hey the party can begin." Martinez said walking through the door with a case of beer and some chips. Alice and Shumpert came in right behind him.

"Good everyone is here let's go outside." They followed Valerie outside and arranged themselves around her patio table which she'd already had drinks and snacks set up.

"It's nice to see some new faces in Woodbury." Shumpert said. "Most of us grew up in this Podunk hell hole and we all know everything there is to know about each other."

"Yeah Cesar, Frank and I went to high school together, had all the same classes, and during summers worked at the same grocery store, Alice said, Cesar was a gym teacher at Woodbury high."

"It's true I was Tasha's coach on the girls fastpitch softball team.

"This town can feel claustrophobic." Valerie said. "I've been here since I was twenty-three and I've got that townie smell that won't wash off."

"Hey!" Martinez said.

"Momma I can't sleep." Tasha said coming out on to the patio.

"What's wrong sweetheart?"

Tasha sat on the arm of her mother's chair and put her arms around her neck. "I had that nightmare about daddy again and now I can't get back to sleep."

Valerie moved over in her seat and patted the space she'd created. "Sit with me til you feel sleepy again, OK."

"OK." Tasha sat next to her mother and snuggled into her side.

"Excuse me." Rick said gruffly and got up from the table.

"Is he all right?" Frank asked.

"Painful memories." Michonne said sparing Daryl from having to think of an answer. Rick was having to act like he didn't have a son or daughter, and it must of been killing him. He couldn't mention Carl or Judith, couldn't tell anyone he had a son or a daughter. Daryl was worried that if they didn't leave soon Rick was going to crack, or something was going to crack. Woodbury wasn't right he could just feel it.

Michonne got up and went after Rick and Daryl felt weird being left at the table by himself.

"Someone he loved died didn't they?" Tasha asked.

Daryl nodded. "Yeah."

"When my dad died he didn't get to come back by the time the walkers got done there wasn't enough of him left. Tell your friend not to be sad about death, what's death anymore anyway when we're all dead on the inside, She got out the chair and faced Daryl, all of us are death warmed over why fucking cry about it"

"Tasha!" Valerie cried as the young girl ran from the patio and back into the house. "I'm sorry, she apologized to Daryl, her father died in the second attack on Woodbury and she saw the whole thing and she's not coping with it very well."

Daryl just nodded this whole situation seemed beyond his control. What could he say to make things better?

Alice got up from her chair and pulled Cesar and Frank up with her. "Val go check on Tasha and we'll clean up and see ourselves out."

"Thanks Alice." Valerie said and ran in the house after her daughter.

"Ya want me to help?"

"No, go find your friends we've got it." Alice assured him.

"Right then, I'll see ya'll later."

Michonne and Rick were sitting on a glider on the front porch. Rick's shoulders were hunched and his face looked longer than a horses. Michonne had her hand on his shoulder and was taking to him intently, but Rick seemed inconsolable.

Daryl stepped up on to the porch and he could finally here what the pair was saying.

"What if Judith- what if while I'm gone she-" Rick stammered.

"Nothing is going to happen to her. "She's got a lot of good people looking after her, your son is looking after her." Michonne told him. "None of the people who are at the prison now would let anything happen to Jude."

"Seeing Valerie with her daughter just got me thinking of how Lori might have been with Judith if I been the one to die, I don't know, I don't know about this place. I mean one more week here and then what? Do you really think The Governor is really just going to let us walk out of here after we've been here so long?"

"He betta unless he wants an arrow up his ass." Daryl spat. There was no way they were going to keep him here against his will, being locked up and authority were too things he did not deal well with.

"If he doesn't let us leave walking out of here is not going to be that easy, this town is his, he grew up here and he feeds and protects these people they'll be loyal to him." Michonne said.

"So that means we jus need to get Cesar and Frank on our side an slip out during patrol"

Michonne chewed on her bottom lip in thought. "I'm sure we could win Valerie over too, we don't have to tell her about the prison, but we can assure her we have a safe place for her and Tasha, I'm pretty sure the only reason she's staying here is because of her daughter. Once we get her to trust us then we can see if we can get Alice on our side."

"Seems pretty risky." Rick said.

"Ya know any other way? Michonne is right we ain't jus gonna be able to walk outta here, he's got people on the walls day an night, plus they keep track of who comes an who goes."

Rick sighed. "All right, but if anyone who joins us looks like they're going to betray us I won't hesitate to kill them."

* * *

Daryl sat on the front porch of the duplex Michonne was sitting in his lap drinking coffee and watching the sun rise.

"So what are we going to do today?" Michonne asked. "We don't have patrol until ten."

"Hell if I know ain't much to do in this place."

The door to Rick's duplex opened and he stepped out on to his front porch.

"Hey Rick." Daryl and Michonne said in unison.

"Hey guys." Rick said sitting in the empty chair beside them.

It was going to be a beautiful day. Woodbury would be a nice place to live if it weren't under the control of The Governor Daryl thought.

"Well it isn't visiting hours yet what do you want to do til then?" Rick asked.

Daryl wanted to say Michonne but thought the better of it.

"Why don't we actually explore Woodbury we've been here damn near three weeks and we haven't checked out the shops or the school, or anything." Michonne said. "It wouldn't hurt to do some people watching while we're out either if we keep our ears open we can probably find out how people really feel about this place."

Daryl, Michonne and Rick checked out the shops first Michonne wanted to check out the clothing store because she needed a new pair of boots. Daryl really didn't need anything and so he walked around aimlessly waiting for her to be done and scoping out the other shoppers.

"Did ya see the new arrivals?" A woman with over teased platinum blond hair and jeans two sizes two small asked.

"The ones that came in with that one-handed fella? Said a woman with curly brown hair. "Nah ain't seen em yet."

Daryl stepped back into a corner someone was talking about their group and he wanted to hear what they had to say.

"Who else? Anyway the woman come wit em could is a dead ringer fer Jocelyn."

"Really?"

"Hand ta God honey." The platinum blonde said crossing her heart then holding up her hand.

"No wonda The Governor lettin em stay, think it's a good thang our a bad thang?"

"Good or bad it ain't none of my business." The blonde said and the two women walked off.

Daryl wonder who Jocelyn was, because it seemed like a big deal to both of those women that Michonne looked like her.

"Well you don't need money here, anything outside of the rations you get you pay for with points, but lucky for soldiers boots are free." Michonne said coming up to him holding a pair of Doc Martens.

"Maybe I ought to get me a pair." He replied he wanted to wait until they were at home before he told Michonne about the two women. After they left the clothing store they went to the park so that Michonne could wear in her new boots.

The park was beautiful. The lawn was trimmed and so where the animal shaped topiaries. Children were playing on a small playground laughing, screaming and acting like children. Mothers pushed around strollers and there were people walking dogs and having picnics it was hard to believe all of this was going on in the middle of an Apocalypse. Daryl could easily see how the others could get pulled in. People could stay in this town forever and pretend like the world never ended the threat of death became easier and easier to forget about when you weren't faced with it everyday. It was foolish of The Governor not to train the towns people even the best laid plans had ways of failing. Then again maybe he wanted it that way if there was an attack the unarmed untrained citizens of Woodbury would be the perfect bait.

By the time Friday rolled around Daryl, Michonne and Rick had learned a lot more about Woodbury. The five blocks seemed to be divided up into four sections. The civilians lived in the first two sections. The shops and park were in the second section. All those who patrolled lived in duplexes in the third section, and The Governor lived in the forth section where the school, hospital and church were.

Since they'd been given firday off they had more time to dress for tonight's game, but Daryl still wore his standard fare of ripped jeans and a sleeveless flannel shirt, but Michonne wore a white tank top and a red denim jumper with a pair of red keds.

Daryl pulled her into his embrace and kissed her slowly and she melted in his arms.

"Mmmm what was that for?" Michonne asked in a dreamy voice.

"Love it when ya ware red."

Michonne giggled.

"What?"

"You can be really cute when you want to."

Daryl just smiled and took her hand. They met up with Rick on the front porch and walked to school where the game was being held.

"Hey you guys made it." Martinez said when he saw the trio walking towards him, "These are my buddies Crowley, and Gargulio, c'mon sit down and have a beer, They followed Martinez and his crew up into the bleachers to the middle row where they had a perfect view of the baseball field. The stadium lights were lit up and in the middle of the baseball diamond were eight biters all in a circle with chains around their neck.

"What ya'll doin with them biters?" Daryl asked. "They gonna put on a talent show?'

"Even better." Said the man who Martinez had introduced as Crowley.

The game turned out to be people beating each other to a bloody pulp in an arena, and if that weren't barbaric enough the fighters were surrounded by the eight biters, so it was fight or get bitten. The residents of Woodbury loved it. They sat in the bleachers cheering on the bloodshed and eating and drinking like they were at the movies.

"This is the game, you have walkers at the same place Tasha goes to school!" Michonne shouted jumping up. "What do let your loved ones turn when they die just so you can have some cheap entertainment, this is sick I refuse to watch!"

"Keep you tits in your bra brown suga', the only people fighting in the arena are criminals who deserve it." Crowely said grabbing Michonne by the arm when she made to leave, and spinning her around.

Daryl felt fire rush through his veins and he jumped up. "The fuck ya think yer talking to, don ya eva put yer hands on her." He shoved Crowley hard knocking him into Martinez who spilled his drink all over himself.

"Get your hands off me hillbilly and handle your bitch or I will." Crowley shouted.

"I'm gonna kick yer fuckin ass now!" Daryl growled raising his fist. He had very little tolerance for men who put their hand on women, and zero tolerance for a man who put his hands on his woman.

"That's enough!" Rick snapped and put himself physically between him and Crowley.

"Yeah chill, Martinez said, Woodbury is non-violent."

"Non-violent, what the hell do you call this, ballet?" Michonne asked pointing to the arena.

By now the people in the bleachers were all looking at the skirmish unfolding in front of them.

"Is there something wrong here?" The governor asked. He had been sitting in the bottom row, but had come up when he heard the yelling."

"Yes something is wrong here, this is insanity." Michonne told him.

"It's just a way for people to blow of steam, no cable, no internet, you've got to keep people entertained here somehow, but if you object you're free to leave, everyone that's here now is here of their own free will."

"She was leavin til that asswipe right there grabbed her." Daryl spat and pointed to Crowley. "He's lucky I didn't break all his bones." He barked in The Governor's face.

"Is that true Crowley did you grab her?"

"I may have had a little too much to drink Sir."

"Answer the question, did you grab her?"

"Yes." Crowley said looking down at his feet like a brow beaten child.

"You're off of patrol for three days, and no alcohol for two weeks, now go home and dry up."

Crowley cast Michonne an evil look and slunk off into the darkness.

"Sorry about that, he's a good guy really, he's just been going through a lot."

"That don't give him the right to go puttin his hands on her!"

Michonne spun on her heels and hurried out of the school and back to their duplex.

"I really am sorry about all of this."

"As long as nuttin like this happens again ain't no problem." Daryl told The Governor he didn't mean it there was already a problem. A huge problem.

"Really I think we should just call it a night." Rick added.

"Ya all right?" Daryl asked catching up with Michonne and wrapping his arm around her.

"No, the sooner we get out of Jonestown the better!" Michonne opened the door to their duplex and Rick followed behind.

Daryl quickly locked the door.

"Are you two going to be all right?" Rick asked. "Want me to stay over?"

"No we should be OK." Michonne said. "Go and get some sleep."

"OK I'll see the two of you in the morning."

They watched Rick out the door and got changed for bed.

"I don't know if I can sleep now, that whole thing with the biters in the arena was just too weird this whole place is too weird."

"He's got too much time an too much power." Daryl said.

"How are they feeding those biters?" Michonne asked sitting up suddenly in the darkness. "Even if they had an arena fight every night and one person was killed every night that still wouldn't be enough to feed all those biters. So where is he getting the meat?" Daryl felt Michonne shiver against him

"Not a one of them damn things looked like they was starving neither." Daryl added.

"He could have fed the people from the channel 9 news team to those biters, but if that's true why them and not us? I mean he has to feed those biters so why not use strangers , they're not going to know what's going on, and who would even know they were missing?"

"So why is he keepin us alive?" Daryl asked.

"We must have something he wants, the only problem is we don't know what."

Rick came over for breakfast the next morning and Daryl told him what he and Michonne had talked about last night.

"That would explain why he got so upset when I told him the crash didn't look deadly." Rick said.

"Something evil is going on this in town." Michonne said.

There was a knock at their front door and Daryl crossed over to the living room to get it. Michonne and Rick followed right behind him.

The Governor was standing in their doorway with a bouquet of flowers. "These are for you Michonne. I'd like to extend my sincerest apology and hope that Crowley's behavior won't reflect on the rest of Woodbury. "

Daryl watched as Michonne reluctantly took the flowers but there was no smile on her face. "Thank you, but really I've already put it out of my mind, the flowers weren't necessary." Michonne said.

"I know, and I didn't just come here to give flowers to Michonne I came to invite the three of you to dinner at my place" He stared at Michonne for a second. "Please, I won't take no for an answer."

"Sure we'd love to come." Michonne said.

"Good I'll see you at seven. My place is the redbrick building at the end of the street on the fifth block."

"I don't like him." Daryl said grabbing the flowers out of Michonne's hand and throwing them in the trash as soon as The Governor left. "Did ya see the way he was starin' at ya?"

"Yeah, he's been doing it a lot. I think maybe he's seen me before."

"Tch, that ain't why he was lookin at ya like that. Why the hell ya agree to go to dinner wit em?"

"What if it's not lust in his eyes though?" Michonne asked. "What if he has seen me before? The prison isn't all that far from here."

"Out of all of us you have been on your own the longest he could have seen you even before coming to the prison." Rick pointed out.

"I want to know what he knows, I want to know how he knows me, and I'm not leaving until I find out."

"Don mean ya gotta go off playin Nancy Drew." Daryl told Michonne

"I'm not playing anything." Michonne snapped. "Something is going on here when we were in the bar drinking Valerie said something about having to over look awful stuff and I don't think she was talking about the biters, I think they're just the tip of the iceberg."

"Well then we really should git the fuck outta here."

"No, Michonne is right we can't leave here without knowing what The Governor is up to."

"I don like the ideal of being in his place gives him the upper hand." Daryl protested.

"We'll just have to be careful then." Michonne said.


	14. Chapter 14 Not in My Back Yard

This story is AU, and contains elements from the comics, show, and my imagination. If you haven't read the comics or watched all three seasons then** this story may contain spoilers**. If you're a fan of The Walking Dead then you already know that this story will contain strong language, sex, and violence.** Read at your own discretion.**

**14. Not in My Back Yard**

The Governor's apartment took up the whole second floor of the red brick building it was housed in. It was furnished very nicely and it looked so clean it almost sparkled. There was a huge panoramic window which if you looked out of it you could see most of Woodbury.

"I'm so glad the three of you made it." The Governor said.

"You have a nice place." Michonne told him.

"Thank you but I can't take the credit it was like this when I came here. Care for a drink?"

"I'll Take a beer." Daryl said

"Me too." Rick added.

"And for the lady?"

"Just water please." Michonne said.

The Governor pulled their drinks from a small refrigerator, and then ushered them to his dinning room table. Much to Daryl's annoyance The Governor sat on the other side of Michonne. He'd been staring at her since she walked in the door, and from the look on Daryl wanted to punch The Governor.

"I hope you're meat eaters because the boys got a lamb and Megan's made lamb chops."

"Is Megan your wife?" Michonne asked The Governor.

"No." he said his face didn't change but the pitch of his voice had. "I don't know what's become of my wife. She was visiting her folks in Montego Bay when the outbreak started , the last text I ever got from her said she was at Sangster International Airport she was trying to come home." The Governor poured himself a scotch and downed it in one huge gulp

No one said anything for long awkward minutes. Then the door to the kitchen opened and a thin brunette woman came out. She moved slowly as she pushed a cart of food.

"Ya got servants?" Daryl asked. "Ya got people to serve ya?"

"Megan isn't a servant she's a recovering addict who can't be left on her own. Just last month she scaled the walls to go out looking for heroin and only succeed in letting a walker in, thankfully no one was hurt."

"If she's detoxing shouldn't she be in a hospital" Michonne asked.

"The staff there is very small and very overwhelmed they don't have time to watch her, but I do have Dr. Stevens on call. I've know Megan since kindergarten and I feel somewhat responsible for her situation. I'm the one who gave Megan her first joint.

Michonne thought it was weird how The Governor talked about Megan as if she wasn't right there in the room serving them food, and Megan acted as if she couldn't hear a thing The Governor was saying about her. Michonne looked at Megan really looked at her. Her shaggy brown hair was lank, lifeless and greasy. She was painfully thin her bones looked as if they were going to rip there way right through her skin. Her arms had track marks parading up and down them. Her eyes were sunken in and there were dark circles that no amount of sleep would ever erase. How she could cook a dinner was beyond her.

Once she had put all the food on the table Megan shuffled out again.

"Bon Appetit."

Reluctantly Michonne ate her food and was surprised at how good it was.

"Amazing isn't it. Megan could have been a Michelin Star Chef but drugs got in her way. She was working in an exclusive New York hotel and got fired because drug use on the job. Cooking keeps her happy and distracted, but I didn't invite you to dinner to tell you all about my sob stories." He downed another glass of scotch.

"So what ya invite us fer?" Daryl asked.

"I invited you hear because I was born and raised right here in Woodbury. I really love this place and it's people and I want you to love it just as much as I do. When the outbreak began my brother Phillip really stepped up to the plate. He saved this town from an attack that could have been far worse. He started setting up patrols and got construction of the wall underway. He figured out how to run the generators, my brother was very smart. When he died Woodbury kind of fell apart and even I didn't do anything to stop it until there was another attack. It was bad we lost a lot of people, but we saved a lot more because our community pulled together, and that's when I realized that Woodbury was a place where we stick together. My brother and parents died but I still had a family. Woodbury is a family, and once you step inside of these wall you become family and you'll always be family. Woodbury sticks with Woodbury"

The way he described Woodbury sounded more like the mafia to Michonne.

Megan came out of the kitchen again and collected their plates, and then came back to serve them plates of apple pie with shaky hands.

The apple pie was delicious even better than what her grandmother could make.

"I Don't let just anyone stay here, but when I saw how hard you three had been fighting to stay alive I knew you'd fit right in here at Woodbury, and Martinez tells me you three are quite the skilled walker killers.

"When you're on the road you kill a lot of things." Michonne told him.

The Governor nodded. "Well I like to hear that Woodbury can never be too protected. I won't be here tomorrow I'll be going into a nearby town to get supplies. I don't believe in being just a figurehead I'm very active in keeping this place protected."

"You've done a wonderful job.' Rick said keeping up the appearance of a polite dinner guest.

"Thank you, why don't we drink a toast to Woodbury."

The Governor poured them each a glass of wine. "To Woodbury." He cried and clanked their glasses with his.

After dinner The Governor walked them to the front door and Michonnel had never been so glad to get out of a place before in her life.

"He said everything right and in the right way, but why do I still feel completely skeeved out?" Michonne asked no one in particular

"Cuz The Governor is one creepy fucker." Daryl said.

"Did you see Megan's arms?" Rick asked. "Some of those track marks were very fresh. I might have been a small town cop, but I've seen enough smackheads to know what old and fresh marks look like.""

"Yeah, I seen that ya could tell she was still usin."

"So she's using, but she spends the majority of her time looked up in The Governor's apartment, by his own admission. Gee I wonder where she's getting her drugs from?" Michonne questioned did not like the man's treatment of Megan and didn't believe the story he told them about why he was keeping her around at all.

'Shit man, what the fuck have we got ourselves inta?" Daryl asked.

* * *

As always the trio visited Merle in the morning and were surprised to run into Megan.

"What are you doing here? Is everything all right?" Michonne asked.

"Yes, Brian drops me off here whenever he goes on one of his expeditions." She explained. "They all know to keep an eye on me here." She said. "It's nice to get out of the apartment, Brian doesn't let me leave ever since he found out I'd been trading sex for pills." Megan hugged herself and began to rock back and forth.

"Are you OK?" Michonne asked putting her hand on Megan's thin shoulder.

"Yes I've just never liked hospitals. I have to go now, but maybe we can have lunch together one day."

"Sure." Michonne said.

Megan smiled. "OK well see you later." She turned and shuffled off.

When they got to his brother's room Merle informed them that Dr. Stevens wasn't in the hospital.

"Well where is she?" Daryl demanded.

"She went out with The Governor on a supply run."

"Shit." Michonne swore sitting down in a chair. What in the hell were they going to do now she wondered.

"Couldn't you ask Alice instead?" Rick asked Michonne

"Couldn't she ask Alice what? Ya goin ta keep me in the loop, or jus talk like I ain't sittin right here."

Daryl told his brother about the dinner at The Governor's.

"Shit I don't need no meds lets leave right now."

"You'll need them if we have to leave by foot. Look if Valerie isn't back by tomorrow I'll talk to Alice, but I'd rather try Valerie first." Michonne told him.

"One way or anotha we'll get them meds an git the hell outta here." Daryl said. "Ain't nobody gonna keep us here."

"Damn right." Merle chimed in.

Megan stuck her head in the door. "I'm going to lunch now you guys want to come with?"

Merle smiled at Megan. "We'd love ta."

Michonne shook her head. Merle had never wanted to go to the cafeteria before, but now that there was a woman that he looked like he might have a chance with of course he wanted to go. They found a table near the window and Merle sat next to Megan and spent the whole of the lunch talking to her.

They left before visiting hours were over but Merle didn't seem to mind since Megan and followed him back to his room he had her to keep him company.

"I don like Megan hangin round my brother she's tryin to quit drugs and Merle ain't never stopped." Daryl said to Michonne as they made their way back to their duplex.

"The Governor will be back soon and she'll be back in his apartment we just have to lay low until then." Michonne said picking up Daryl's hand and giving it a squeeze.

"All I know is the sooner we get out of this place the better." Rick said.

"I agree. Idon't like that whole situation. Michonne said. "I think he's using Megan for sex and whatever else he can get out of her. That bastard is using her addiction against her."

"He's pretty much using this whole town." Rick said.

* * *

"If that's Rick I'm going to strangle him." Michonne said getting out of bed and throwing on her robe.

"If it's The Governor I'm gonna kill him." Daryl added rolling out of bed and running his fingers through his hair. "I was dreamin I had a blue tick hound."

It wasn't quite six o' clock in the morning and already someone was knocking at their door. Michonne went to answer it and Daryl stood behind her with his buck knife drawn.

Michonne gave Daryl a look then opened the door ready to cuss Rick out if it was him. "Tasha?" Dr. Stevens daughter was the last person Michonne expected to ever see. "Come in sweetie, what are you doing here so early?

Tasha stepped inside and drew invisible patterns on their floor with the tip of her sneaker before talking. "I was on my way to school but I wanted to talk to you. First I wanted to say I'm sorry for yelling at you during momma's party Mr. Daryl"

"Mister? How fuckin old do ya think I am?"

The young girl shrugged. "Momma won't let me call my elders by their first name"

"I ain't no elder, so ya can jus call me Daryl when she ain't around, an wat the fuck ya need to go to school fer?"

"Hell if I know." Tasha said. "I could literary get into any college I wanted to of course there'd be no professor, but I could still get in."

"Are you hungry, thirsty, can I get you anything." Michonne asked.

"No I already ate breakfast I just came to talk to you about Cesar."

"What about him? He didn't try anything wit ya did he?" Daryl asked and Michonne had to smile at his protective instinct

"No, Cesar is like my big brother! Sometimes he takes me up on the wall and lets me throw fastballs at walkers."

Daryl laughed. "Oh man that sounds like fun."

"Tasha what did you want to tell us about Cesar?" Michonne asked steering the conversation back on track.

"Just that he only took you to the game to show you guys how crazy The Governor has become, but he can't tell you because of what happened to him."

"What happened to him?"

"Well it's kind of a long story you should probably get that other guy."

"Rick?" Michonne asked. She'd almost forgotten about him in the chaos.

"I'll go get him." Daryl offered.

"Are you sure it's OK for you to be here?" Michonne asked. "I don't want to get you into any trouble."

Tasha shrugged and fell into an arm chair. "I"m always in trouble there isn't much to do here so I have to make my own fun."

"Hello Tasha." Rick said as he came through the door. "Sorry I ruined your mom's party."

"It's OK."

"Well go on, ya wanted to tell us sumthin bout Cesar and that fight." Daryl prompted.

Tasha nodded and began talking. "Woodbury was a really nice place to live when The Governor's brother Phillip was governor. After the first zombie attack on Woodbury Phillip said we should just carry on as normal. He was really good at organizing things and getting people to work together he's the reason Woodbury is what it is right now. He gave everyone something to do and treated everyone like they were important. When he died the whole town like died, everyone just stopped caring and Woodbury fell apart no one wanted to try and take over Philip's role, he was a rarity he was actually a good person" Tasha sighed heavily.

"Ya don't hafta talk about if ya don want to." Daryl said.

"No it's OK, it wasn't until the second attack that everyone started caring again and people wanted things the way they the were when Philip ran Woodbury, but no one knew how, so since Brian aka The Governor was his brother's assistant like everyone started turning to him more and more for things and he just started running this town. At first he did run it like his brother had, but I think the power went to his head. Everyone in town knows Brian was always jealous of Philip because he was younger and more successful, and better looking. Brain's always been a bit of a joke in Woodbury before the world ended people saw him as a spoiled little rich boy living off his parents money. Now he's like making people respect him.

"Why the hell didn't ya'll just chuck his ass out an find a new leeda"

"The Governor has way too many lackeys on his side, big guys who used to play football in high school, gym rats, and some disgraces from the national guard no one can take them on, but Cesar and a group of teaches tried See once The Governor knew he had enough big strong guys with guns to back him up he started really acting like a jerk and making all these rules and giving his friends official titles. He came up with his own court and punishment system, that's what the arena fights are all about."

"He made up is own judicial system?" Michonne asked feeling sick, she remembered that Crowley said that only criminals who deserved it fought in the arena. She wonder just how The Governor determined who was a criminal and by what means they went about deciding that those criminals deserved fighting in arena as their punishment.

"Yes, our civics teacher Ms. Caul was really against it, out of everyone in Woodbury she was the most vocal about the things that The Governor was doing. She protested against him all of her students, myself included, helped and that's when The Governor made going to school mandatory. He said it would stop Woodbury's youth from becoming delinquents, but really it was because he was angry with Ms. Caul. He started having the fights at the school to show Ms. Caul what kind of power he had"

"What happen to her?" Michonne asked though she was afraid to hear the answer the more she knew about Woodbury the more she wished she didn't. Out of all the makeshift towns in all the Apocalypses they could have been trapped in they had to be trapped in Woodbury.

"The Governor tortured her to death. Everyone knows it, but no one talks about it. He uses the old Woodbury sanatorium as his personal torture chamber my mom tried to convince me that it's just some crazy rumor, but I know it's true. When people go missing here it's because they've been killed."

"Tasha are you sure this is true?" Rick asked. "I mean how can you be sure?"

"Cesar has the scars to prove it he nearly died too, the walls here keep the bad things out but they also keep them in."

Staying in Woodbury and getting close to it's people was like letting a child name and play with a pig you were going to slaughter, nothing good could come of it. The more time Michonne spent with her new little group the more she grew to like them, and the more she liked them the more she felt guilty. Michonne knew it was silly to feel bad about getting close to people, she'd have to be inhumane not to feel something for them, but still it felt like some kind of betrayal to everyone back at the prison, but she couldn't turn her back on the new group now.

"Cesar said you were good fighters you have to help us we're trapped here like rats. Please" Tasha begged.

"So why did Cesar keep grilling us and asking us where we came from?" Rick asked.

"We're not stupid we know you guys had to come from somewhere close by, wherever it is it's got to be better than here and he was hoping you'd take us with you."

"What ya think we can do?" Daryl asked purposely leaving out any information about the prison.

"If you can't take us with you then help Cesar take The Governor out for good. There's still a group of us that wants him dead, and if you guys helped I know we'd succeed. Please at least think about it?"

"Of course we will sweetie" Michonne said. How could she say no? Tasha could have very well have been one of her daughters if they'd been allowed to grow up.

"Thank you so much if you guys do this you won't regret it, but if you don't you might not live to regret it. I've got to jet I can't be late for school" Tasha said and bounded out the door and Michonne watched her go until she could no longer see her.

"Fuck waitn fer Cesar an his group les just kill that fucker now."

"Didn't you hear anything Tasha just said? If it were that easy The Governor would be dead by now." Rick said.

"Not to mention this whole town is set up in his favor, the civilians don't know the first thing about walkers or how to kill them yet their the closest to the walls so in case of an attack they've got an all you can eat buffet." Michonne added. "The Governor is near the back and before you can even get to him he has us as his soldiers to protect him, and then he's got his favorite muscled cronies to protect him. If we're going to kill The Governor it's going to have to be by simultaneous attacks, I think it's best if we split into two groups."

"Fine but we're gonna be a part of the group that takes down The Governor." Daryl said.

* * *

"We might as well git up neither of us is gonna to git to sleep with ya tossin an turnin like that." Daryl mumbled from under the sheets.

Michonne couldn't sleep she hadn't been sleeping since they got to Woodbury, but she especially hadn't been sleeping since Tasha's visit."If we do kill The Governor what happens next? All these people in this mess are helpless we can't just leave them to fend for themselves"

"We cain't save everyone 'sides ain't we got enough shit to worry about?"

"There are children here, babies, we just can't leave things like they are."

"Let the fuckers that live here figga out how to save themselves. Once we kill that bastard we'[re out."

"I can't!" Michonne said slamming her fist on her thigh.

"I been tryin to figga how to tell ya cuz I didn't want to worry ya, but yer so damn stubbron I guess I'll tell ya now."

Michonne snorted. Daryl was calling her stubbron.

"When ya got them boots from that shop I heard these women talkin they said ya was a dead ringer fer someone named Jocelyn, and it seemed to be a big deal to 'em women, now I don know who Jocelyn is but she seemed to be pretty well known around Woodbury, an even by The Governor. I don't like the sound of it."

"So that's why The Governor has been staring at me." Michonne said connecting the dots. "It wasn't that he'd seen me before it was because I look like someone he knew. It's weird how no one has brought it up this is a small town where everyone knows everyone between all the people in our new little group someone had to have known Jocelyn ."

"All of em probably knew her and are two scared to say shit, what if he killed her like he done that teacher? I'm tellin ya now we're outta here soon as we kill that son-of-a-bitch!"

"Once we kill The Governor we won't have to worry about me looking like Jocelyn, and we can't just leave Tasha and her mother behind, and what about all the other innocent people who live here? Do you really want to be the kind man who'd just walk away from this?"

"I want us all to be safe, but their ain't no way to do any thing easy any more, ain't no soft options. I care bout our group first that means you, Merle and Rick."

"So why do we move into Woodbury make this place the kind of place it should be."

"You really think it's goin to be that easy hun?"

"No, but what is easy?"

Daryl gave a deep sigh. "Ya know I'll back ya up, whateva ya want to do I'll back ya up even if I think yer plan is crazier than bat shit."

"Thank you." Michonne said. "You're a good man Daryl Dixon." She kissed him then tucked her head under his chin.

Daryl wrapped his arms around her. "As long as I got ya with me."

"You we're a good guy before you even met me."

"Well now I'm even betta."

"You always have to have the last word don't you?"

"Ya know it, now shut up an go to sleep."

* * *

After breakfast came their routine visit to the hospital. They were three doors down from Merle's room when they heard laughter emanating from there.

"Guess Megan stopped in fer another visit." Daryl said in a disgruntled tone.

When Michonne stepped into Merle's room Megan was there curled up on the end of Merle's bed and the two of them looked like husband and wife.

"Hi." Megan said her eyes bright with laughter. "Hope you don't mind my stopping by."

"Megan yer back again how nice, I guess The Governor ain't come back to lock ya up yet." Daryl said in his surly voice.

"Naw he ain't. back" Merle snapped. "What ya care fer? Two of ya got a hot date or sumtin?"

Michonne tried not to sigh but she was damned sick of Daryl arguing with his brother the pair of them were worse than her daughters had been. Personally she thought a little romance might do Merle good, or at the very least he wouldn't be so focused on her and Daryl. The man was lonely and if he could find a woman stupid enough to want to be with him more power to him. No one was promised tomorrow today especially in this new world.

"I think I'll go get something to drink for the cafe anyone else want anything?" Megan asked. She had picked up on the tension between Daryl and his brother and didn't want to be any where near it.

"I'll take root-beer if they have it." Rick said.

"Wouldn't mind some coke, talkin' bout ta drink of course." Merle quipped.

Michonne rolled her eyes. "You'll need some help carrying all those drinks I'll go with you."

"I'm sure you're wondering what I'm doing with your boyfriend's brother." Megan said as soon as they left Merle's room.

"It's really none of my business you're both adults."

"Well Daryl really thinks it's his business he doesn't like me."

"He's more worried about his brother. Merle is still using drugs"

The two women made their way into the cafeteria and got cups and filled them with the appropriate drinks from the fountain machine.

"Merle wants to quit using he told me so, he scared he'll lose his brother if he doesn't." Megan wrung her hands and pulled on her hair. Michonne noticed she had a lot of nervous habits and she wonder which one made her more nervous the lack of drugs or The Governor.

"I don't now about that." Michonne said she trusted Merle about as far as she could throw him. She placed lids on all of the cups and stuck straws in them.

"I really think he does he said he'd take me away from here and the two of us could start over. He's got a cabin and he said all four of us could go live there, only he didn't think you and Daryl would go along with the plan guess you two like living like nomads." Megan said as she placed the drinks on a tray.

So Merle had told Megan about the cabin, but not the prison Michonne wasn't sure how she felt about that. "How come you don't want to stay here at Woodbury, it seems safe enough and The Governor seems like a nice guy." Michonne knew what she was saying was total bullshit but she wanted to see what Megan's answer would be.

"Brian is only nice when he wants something from you or he can get something from you." Megan said biting her lip. "In high school he used to have the biggest crush on me but I hated him and his family and everything they stood for. Brain's parents were ultra conservative and even though Brian wasn't he acted that way to try and get his father's love. Philip wasn't conservative either and didn't bother to act like it and his father _still_ loved Philip more than Brian, everyone in this town loved Philip more than is brother and I think he still resents the whole town for that."

What Megan said pretty much confirmed everything Tasha had told her, and if she did have any doubts about the young girl they would be gone now.

"So why do you stay with him? Why don't you just leave?" She fell in step beside Megan as they made their way back to Merle's room.

"When I came back to Woodbury after losing my job in New York I was a mess and I didn't have anything. Brian said he'd take care of me since he felt guilty for getting me started on drugs in the first place. I was too scared to make it on my own and so strung out that I moved in with him,and let him make all of my decisions for me. It was nice at first because Brian was giving me methadone to ween me off the heroin, but then the outbreak started and I couldn't deal with it and Brian started giving me heroin again to keep me calm and it was too late to leave even after I found out what he only wanted me now because I rejected him in high school. Brian's planned his running Woodbury out some sick sense of revenge, and now no one can leave Woodbury unless he wants them too. Merle said he'd take me from here and I hope he means it because getting out of Woodbury is the smartest thing any of you can do."


	15. Chapter15 If you can tell me something

Chapter title comes from a lyric in the song _A rush of blood to the head _by_ Coldplay_. This story is AU, and contains elements from the comics, show, and my imagination. If you haven't read the comics or watched all three seasons then** this story may contain spoilers**. If you're a fan of The Walking Dead then you already know that this story will contain strong language, sex, and violence.** Read at your own discretion.**

**15. If you can tell me something worth fighting for**

"Git any good pills off yer girlfriend?" Daryl asked his brother once Michonne had left the room with Megan.

"Maybe I did. Why in the fuck do ya kerr?" Merle growled.

"I care cuz I don't wanna see my brother turn into a fuckin tweeker."

"You know I think I'll go see if Michonne needs a hand." Rick said and launched himself out of his chair and practically ran for the door.

"So glad ya kerr, but everyone's got somebody, friends, lovas, children, everybody has someone 'cept me." Merle said. "So maybe I need someone ta help me pass the time. Maybe it ain't about the drugs maybe it's about companionship."

"What the hell am I?'

"You? You're as good as married now, ya share a cell wit Mi-chonne, share a bed wit her, shit might as well have some fuckin kids an grow old wit her, ain't that what ya want?" He laughed rudely

"Yeah it is!" Daryl snapped even if it wasn't entirely true his brother was just pissing him off and he wanted to shock him. Truth was Daryl wasn't sure if he ever wanted kids, what kind of father would he be, and growing old with Michonne sounded nice, but part of him kept waiting for her to realize she could do better and leave him for someone else. "Cain't ya jus be happy fer me fer once in yer damn life."

"Why couldn't ya fall in love wit yer own kind?"

"I guess ya cain't. What kind of woman ya want me to fall in love wit? Them toothless STD infected bitches ya used to go out wit? Is that the kinda woman I should fall in love wit, Daryl shook his head in disgust, stick wit yer own kind that's the same thing ya been tellin me awl my life ya ain't changed none."

"I'm fuckin tryin ta change, but no matter what I do ya gotta shit all ova it, ya ain't so perfect yerself should I tell Mi-chonne the kind of joke ya used to laugh at?" Remember that black boy ya beat up? How long ya think she'd stay wit ya if I tole her them things?

"Is that a threat?"

"Naw, it's jus a reminder fer ya to git off yer damn high horse."

"I ain't on no high fuckin horse, an I ain't no fuckin saint neither. Yeah I useta be a strung out racist, I done a lot of shit I ain't too proud of, but I done even more to change. Yer the exact same though, nobody wants to drag the same old bullshit inta the new world. The way we was raised wasn't right Merle an ya know it. Dad had a real fucked up way of thinkin an he passed it on to us but it don mean we gotta believe it."

"Yeah an that leaves me wit jack shit. Always had more than ya, not much but more than ya. The world ends and some how ya end up with more than me, hell ya got more than what I had fore all this shit started an I ain't even got what I did have. Ya think I don't know I need to change, pretty much everything we knew was a lie, but how the fuck does that help me now? Now I'm jus some ignorant redneck no one wants around."

"So stop actin like one goddammit, why the fuck would anyone wanna be around ya? Ya know yer wrong but ya don't wanna change what kind of fuckin sense does that even make?"

"I tole ya I'm tryin ta change an it don't matter ta ya none!"

"Well maybe that's why it ain't workin, ya gotta change cuz ya want to not cuz I want ya to."

"Shit, when the hell ya get so smart?"

"When ya wasn't around." Daryl replied.

"I shoulda took ya wit me I jus didn't think I could take care of ya, I could hardly take care of me."

"Don't matta now."

"Then why'd ya bring it up?"

"Shit I don't know." Daryl said irritably He just meant for his brother to stop taking drugs and being a racist piece of shit he didn't want to rehash his whole fucked up childhood.

"Meant ta do betta by ya, but I was jus fraid I'd fuck ya up even more than dad did"

"I know." Daryl replied.

"This ain't easy ta say, but I'm jealous of ya an Mi-chonne, know I cain't neva git a woman as smart an classy as her, an it ain't jus that, she likes ya too I can tell she does the whole race thing still throwin me fer a loop, but don fuck this up, don push her away cuz yer skeered ta git close to someone."

"When the hell did ya get so smart?"

"When I was runnin away from everythin"

"Don matta now ya came back." Daryl wondered if he and his brother would even be having this conversation if Merle hadn't almost died. Not many people had family left and now it was hitting him how lucky he was to still have his brother.

"Look maybe I don deserve no one, but Megan likes me an I like her. She tole me she ain't happy here The Governor keeps feedin her drugs to make her stay wit em, but she wants ta quit. I wanna take her from here, I wanna do right by sum-fuckin-one. Yer happy now an I wanna be happy too"

Daryl didn't say anything because he didn't know what to say. Merle had never shared this much with him before never made himself seem anything less than angry and self reliant. Finally he nodded at his brother and just like that the fight between them was over.

"Everything OK" Michonne asked from the doorway.

"Yup." Daryl replied.

"Good." Michonne said and handed him a Mountain Dew.

"Here's your coke." Megan said handing Merle a cup and sitting next to him on his bed.

It was going to take awhile for Daryl to get used to the ideal of him and Megan together, but his brother was a grown man and he had someone who cared about him, so why should Merle be any different.

"I wish I didn't have to go back to Brian's apartment he's just going to drug me up."

"So don fuckin go back. He don own ya and ya don owe that son-of-a-bitch nuttin." Merle barked.

"I can't just not go back Brian would never allow it."

"You could if Valerie said you needed to be here in the hospital for some reason." Michonne said. "She is a doctor after all and I'm sure if anyone could convince that asshole you needed a hospital stay it would be her."

"Why would Valerie do that?" Megan asked.

"You just leave that part too me." Michonne said.

Dr. Stevens didn't come back until late in the day and after patrolling with Cesar and Frank they met up with Alice at Spare Parts. They grabbed their usual table and Daryl ordered himself a Jim Beam and Michonne had her cherry vodka sour.

"So how did the supply run go?" Michonne asked Valerie.

"It was pretty uneventful as far as runs go, how are things going for you three?"

Daryl exchanged a look with Michonne how were they going to bring up what her daughter had told them?

"Who is Lily?" Daryl asked. He figured the best way to tell if someone was honest or not was to ask them a question that he already knew the answer to and they thought he didn't.

Alice choked on her drink, Valerie gasped and Cesar and Frank exchanged looks.

"The less you know the better." Alice said.

"No you're wrong the less we know the more we're likely to die. Something's not right with Woodbury don't even try to deny it." Rick exclamied.

"Are ya gonna tell us who she is or not?" Daryl demanded.

"She was a teacher she taught at Woodbury high with me." Cesar said finally. "We were really close once but she's gone now."

"Gone? Gone where?" Michonne questioned. "From what I've gather about this town no one just leaves here."

"Tasha told you about Lily didn't she?" Valerie asked and took a long pull from her bottle of beer. "She hates me for my indifference, but all this shit I'm doing I'm doing it for her. The irony of it all is it's ruining my relationship with her." She sobbed.

"Valerie don't!" Alice warned. "Don't say anything else!"

"No let her" Cesar snapped. "How many more of our friends are we going to have to lose? At this point we need all the help we can get."

"How do we even know they'll help us?" Alice narrowed her eyes at Cesar and Daryl noticed her hands were balled up into fist.

"Help you what ?" Rick prodded.

"None of your damn business." Alice snarled. "Just forget we said anything."

"If you don't like The Governor don't worry we don't either." Michonne told Alice.

"Iffen yer willing to fight we'll help ya we'll fight right beside ya."

"You really think it's that easy hun?" Alice questioned. "You think we're just staying here because we're so complacent?

"We shouldn't be talking about this here." Frank said.

"We'll go to my house then, Valerie suggested, and finish talking about it there."

"What about Tasha?" Rick asked.

"She's at a sleepover so we'll have the house to ourselves."

Alice gave Frank and the rest of her group an angry look. "I hope you're all not making a big mistake."

"Can't be bigger than any of the mistakes I've made so far." Valerie said.

"Wait one more thing." Michonne said as everyone was getting up to leave. "It's about Megan she needs to get away from The Governor you think you could find a reason to keep her in the hospital?

Valerie finished her beer and wiped away her tears. "Of course."

It wasn't a very far walk to Valerie's house and when they got there she led them out on to the patio.

"You guys ready to hear the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" Frank asked once the group had settled themselves out on Valerie's patio furniture.

"So help me god." Rick drawled.

"Brian's great-great-great grandfather founded Woodbury and ever since then generation after generations of Blakes have been governing Woodbury. The Blakes are like royalty here. They've always had a lot of power and influence and that's how come Brian's got so many flunkies working for him, old habits die hard. After his brother's death Brian built Woodbury up using his band of national guard deserters and some of his friends that played college football. What he calls going out on a run is really pillaging and raping, Frank said, he never goes to a town unless there's people already living there"

"The man is sick." Cesar chimed in. "He's like a little Hitler anyone he figures will be of some use to Woodbury he let's live and those he doesn't he feeds to his walkers."

"Like the people from the channel 9 news chopper." Michonne said. "So what's his reason for letting us stay alive?"

Cesar exchanged an uncomfortable look with his friends before he finally spoke up. "Well part of it was you guys were such good fighters."

"Yeah but yer Governor didn't know that til afta we went on patrol. Til afta ya snitched that we was good fighters" Daryl argued. "Gotta be more to it than that."

"The other part was your car. The shit in it looked way too new for you guys to have been out on the road as long as you said. Brian figured you guys were from nearby and he wanted to use me to figure it where exactly."

"So that's why you keep asking where we came from." Rick said angrily.

"Hey Cesar wasn't going to tell him, Alice snapped, besides the real reason he's letting you all stay is because Michonne looks just like his wife Jocelyn."

"Cuse me?" Daryl said getting out of his seat and kicking his chair over. "Ya'll didn't think this was sumthin ya shoulda tole us earlier?" No wonder why that bastard had been staring at Michonne ever since they'd arrived at Woodbury and why he brought her flowers. The sick bastard had a thing for her.

Michonne arched one eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest "Any more secrets you think we ought to know?"

Cesar shook his head. "Sorry we didn't tell you before but we had to make sure we could trust you first. You've no ideal what it's like living in Woodbury you don't do what The Governor wants and your family members come up missing or you end up in his sanatorium."

"He took you there didn't he?" Rick asked. "Tasha told us about it."

"Yeah that bastard took me there and nearly killed me trust me when I say I want my revenge on this fucker."

"So how ya figga we gonna kill em?" Daryl asked sitting back down.

"Brain's going on another run in two weeks, tomorrow I'll figure out where it is, and when I tell you we can work on setting up an ambush." Valerie said.

"It won't be easy though." Cesar explained. "He still keeps some of his men back in Woodbury should anyone try to usurp him again. Since the last time we tried and failed to kill him he's more paranoid than ever"

"We've got other people who are willing to fight though, if we carefully execute this we can pull it off." Frank said.

"This is it then, Michonne said we're going to war?"

" If you'll help us yes. We've got maps, we've got blueprints of the town, and we've got weapons." Cesar said. "We've been preparing for this war for a long time we've just never had the manpower until now."

"I just hope this isn't some kind of trap on your part." Rick inferred.

"We could say the same thing about you." Alice shot back.

"If we can't trust each other this is never going to work, Valerie reasoned, this isn't a game for us I've got a daughter here you think I'm going into this casually?"

Cesar ripped open his shirt and across his chest were several scarred over cuts and burns. "This is what The Governor did to me, and if you think I got it bad Lily got it much worse so don't think for one minute that I don't want this bastard dead!"

Daryl stared at the scars on Cesar's chest some of the scars he bore were very similar to his own. He thought about every punch, every kick, every broken bone his father ever gave him and felt a fiery hot anger building inside him. He thought about all the times he had to watch his mother get beaten and how he'd had to clean her up afterwards. He knew the anger that Cesar felt about how dehumanizing it was to get beaten and not being able to do anything about it. He knew what it was when someone had power over you and the people you loved and they abused it and abused you because they were unable to deal with their own short comings.

"You stay here and he'll hurt you by hurting the people you love most." Cesar said looking right at Daryl. "I loved Lily and he killed her to hurt me. She was pregnant by me but he didn't care he just wanted to prove his point. He proved his point all right, proved that he's a sadistic fuck who's too dangerous to let live. So don't fucking doubt my sincerity"

"I'm sorry Rick said."

"Not as half as sorry as The Governor's going to be." Cesar promised.

Alice wearily rubbed her temples. "Let's call it a night. I think we've done enough talking for now."

They left Valerie's house wrapped in a heavy silence. Daryl took Michonne's hand in his as they made their way back to their duplex the thought of her being hurt like Lily had been disturbed him greatly.

Rick didn't say anything to them he just nodded his goodbye and disappeared into his side of the duplex.

"That was damn intense Michonne breathed out closing and locking their front door behind her.

Daryl nodded his head and studied Michonne's face and thought about what his brother had said about not pushing her away because he was scared of his feelings, but for all of his life his modus operandi had been pushing people away before they had a chance to hurt him,only he was in way too deep to do that now. He was falling in love with Michonne and that scared the shit out of him. What in the hell did some one as fucked up as him know about love?

"You OK?" Michonne asked.

He stepped closer to her. He was not one for flowery speeches, he couldn't think of a single romantic gesture that would prove what he felt for her, could never verbalize how much he needed her, but he wanted her to know before they went off to war what she meant to him because even worse than her leaving him would be her dying. He was prepared to die but he was not prepared to lose her.

"What's going on in that head of yours Dixon, Michonne solicited pulling him out of his thoughts, you're being quite even for you."

He grimaced and wished that he was more eloquent but he was only himself and whether he wanted to believe it or not it seemed to be good enough for Michonne so he kissed her hard. Quickly they began peeling each others clothes off while frantically kissing each other, when the last article of clothing had been tossed to the floor Daryl lifted Michonne from her feet and held her in his arms. He needed to feel that she was real, solid, and here with him.

"I'm scared too you know." She told him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Ya know I'll protect ya." He said because it was the best he could offer her. He was a doer always had been. He carried her up the steps to their bedroom. He felt nervous as he lie her down on their bed like it was their first time again. When she reached her hand up to cup his cheek he wished he could shut his feelings off but also wished he could dive fully into them. When they came together it would be different. When they came together this time he would be undone. This he knew. Daryl unbuttoned her shirt button by button unwrapping her like a present.

"If I don't make-"

"Ya will." He told her cutting her off. "I have to die to-"

"If I'm killed in all this, If I don't make it don't do anything stupid, live your life Daryl go on because I won't be able to." Michonne said interrupting him right back.

"Don say nuttin else yer gonna make it." He lie down lengthwise next to her. It was dark in the room but the moon spilled in providing natural light and he could still make out the outline of her body. His hands traced over her soft skin that almost seemed to be burning him, searing him. Michonne sat up and pushed Daryl on to his back climbing on to his lap. Her fingers trace over his scars like she was following a route on a map. He closed his eyes as he fought against the urge to push her hands away. When he felt Michonne squeezing him between her thighs his eyes popped opened and he leaned forward to capture her mouth in a crushing kiss.

"Oooh," she moaned when he slipped one of his fingers inside of her, she was so wet she was almost gushing and he sliped a second finger inside, she held on to his shoulders and pressed down on his fingers. He stroked her clit with his thumb, while still moving his fingers within her. She rode his fingers like he wished she would ride his cock.

Just like every time he was with her he couldn't wait, he couldn't slow down, he couldn't control himself. He kissed her again and pushed her down so that she was lying on her back again and Michonne groaned as she raked her fingers into his hair running them down his back and grabbing a handful of his ass. Daryl thrust into her hard and she squeezed herself around him fitting herself around him like she was made for his body. As he pushed his throbbing hard cock into her again and again he thought she might kill him with the force of her sex he dug his hands into Michonne's hips with bruising force and she scratched her nails down his back. Daryl shivered at the way it hurts so good. He nipped at her lips the way she did his and began stroking her supporting himself over her by his arms. He wanted to give her his all.

"Daryl, Daryl, Daryllllllllllllll!" she screamed coming beneath her body shuddering and shaking around him violently. He came a second later shooting his thick cum inside of her his face screwed up and his head jerked back, and this time it's so intense that he blacked out.

When Daryl came to Michonne was curled up under him her head tucked under his chin and for the first time since they'd been together she appeared small and fragile next to him. He didn't want her fighting this war but he knew there was no way he could keep her from fighting, no way he could keep her out of danger. There was no way he could keep any of the people he cared for safe.


End file.
